Thursday, March 8, 2012

Smoothie






Smoothie

Breakfast

 

Steve's Mediterranean Omelet




2 eggs beaten with a splash of milk
Saute:
1/4 cup chopped red bell pepper
2 TBLS  red onion
1 clove garlic
1 TBLS olive oil
Remove from pan and add Egg
Sprinkle omelet with feta, chopped grape tomatoes, chopped fresh spinach, Herbs de Provence, sun-dried tomatoes, and sauted ingred.



Wednesday, March 7, 2012

Smoothie



7oz coconut water
1oz coconut milk
1 teaspoons ground flax seed
1 banana
5 frozen organic strawberries 
handful of frozen organic blueberries
Blend and enjoy!  This is a great smoothie to drink before a hard workout.
GNC sells a great smoothie blender for under $20.00, no mess and you are more apt to make these if there's less clean up. 

Sunday, February 19, 2012

We're Moving to Valencia, Spain

The excitement was growing, in a few days we would find out where our next adventure would take us.  We got a phone call from my husbands commander saying he needed to come over and talk to us.  My first thoughts were, great did the kids leave their bikes behind his car again or were they tired of seeing my 2 year old streak in front of their house.  We provided much entertainment for our neighborhood, with two very active boys.  Not sure they always appreciated their spunk, but that's beside the point.  All day I worried that maybe there was a problem.  The time arrived and they showed up with a box of wine and a card in their hand.  They had bottles of wine from all different countries and the fate of our next move was in their hand.  We had three guesses and could ask three questions, if we didn't guess they said we would have to wait until after the weekend. If we guessed we would celebrate with a glass of wine from the country we would be moving to.  My husband was hoping for Germany and I was hoping for Spain, where the sun shines most the year.  Luckily we guessed right and we corked a bottle of Spanish wine to celebrate our move.  Now with only two month's left in the USA we had to sell a car, paint the inside of the house, and my husband had to complete a course for work.  Adios America the Todd's are moving to Spain!



Meal Planning Board

I have found that if you take the time to meal plan you not only save money, but you also make meal time less stressful.  I will show you how to create a color coded meal plan that will help you get organized and will add minutes to your day.  My grocery bill has gone down considerably by sticking to my meal plan.




















I used a board I already had, but if you need to purchase one I found that Hobby Lobby had them 50% off.  

Step 1: Mod Podge paper onto clips and glue onto board

Step 2: Print week 1 meal plan and recipes on the same color paper.  Week 2 will be on a different color and so on... Makes it easy to find the recipe for that week if they are color coordinated.  Once you go through all the weeks you can mix it up.  Laminate after printing.

Step3: I made the box out of card stock and embellished it with ribbon.  Some of you that have a cricket can cut the box out or you can make your own pattern.
I will include two weeks of meals to get you started then it's up to you.



 Week 2 Meal Plan                                                                                                                   



Boeuf Bourguignon

After watching the movie Julia and Julia I was inspired to prepare one of the recipes out of Julia Child's cookbook.  What an amazing recipe, I recommend trying Boeuf Bourguignon, but follow the recipe exactly as instructed.  I have made it twice and the second time I was in a hurry and took a few short cuts and it did make a difference in flavor.

ching the movie Julia I was inspired to try making Julia Child's Boeuf Bourguignon.








Main Courses

Pesto Flank Steak

Beef & Green Chilies                                  
    
                                                               
Mustard-Coated Pork Chops                         
                                 
Spaghetti And Cheese
Img_3705
Grilled Tandoori Chicken

Coffee Sleeves



I used my scrap fabric and buttons I had around the house to make these coffee sleeves.  The pattern I used was a paper Starbucks sleeve and cut about 1/4 inch larger to allow for seems. 
Supplies: Fabric, buttons, thin batting.   Sew right sides together leaving a small opening to flip inside out, then sew a boarder and sew together, then add buttons.  I love to give gifts and these are perfect for your coffee lovin' friends, plus they were free to make.  Who doesn't love to save money? 

Saturday, February 18, 2012

Super Bowl Table Runner



Ok ladies we all know that our husbands would be just as happy opening a bag of chips and beef jerky for the Super Bowl. That's just not how I roll, so my husband has excepted the fact that I have to add a little style to yes even football. Here are a few fast, easy, and yes even cheap ways to make your Super Bowl party stylin'.





















I made a table runner for a total of $8.00, found the idea on Pinterest and then modified it. All you need is a 1/2 yard of green felt, white ribbon, puff paint, and heat n bond 3/8". In 40 min. I had a cool table runner that even my boys approved of. Once on the table it looked like it was missing something so with 10min. to spare before guitar lessons, I covered two candles with brown paper and made them look like footballs. If I had thought of the idea earlier I would of bought two cheap white candles and would of used Mod Podge to adhere the paper. Another idea is to get a pot and plant with grass for a unique center piece. I thought it might be fun to create bingo cards with numbers to pass out to each guest, the markers are footballs (you can cut your own or buy a punch) and when the score changes you look for the number a small prize for the winner. The nice thing is, when your husband asks how much you spent on all this, you don't have to start sweating. For about $10.00 you have a party that ROCKS!

Salads & Soups



Portobello Mushroom Salad                 Luna Salad                                      
                                                                            

Lime-Cilantro Salad
                                 
                             





















Friday, February 17, 2012

Side Dishes

Grilled Vegetables 

Mexican Rice

Week 2 Meal Plan

Broccoli
Rice


Asparagus
Pasta


Burgers
Fries




Baked Potatoes
Green Beans



Fruit Salad
Corn



Garlic Bread
Salad


Luna Salad


Luna Salad
Red leaf/ spring mix
½ purple onion, sliced
Crumbled Gorgonzola
Dried cranberries
Caramelized  walnuts
Dressing: ½ C. white wine vinegar
1 C. olive oil
2 TBLS. Dijon
2 TBLS. Mined garlic
1 tsp salt
½ tsp pepper
½ tsp. fresh lemon juice
Heat walnuts add 2 TBLS. Butter toss add 2 TBLS brown
Sugar and 2 TBLS vanilla add salt to taste

















Spaghetti

Spaghetti And Cheese
Spaghetti
2 lrg cans whole tomatoes
1 tsp basil, oregano, sugar, herds de provance
1/3 C. olive oil
¼ white wine
4 garlic cloves, minced
red bell, zucchini & eggplant
Heat oil with herbs and garlic, puree tomatoes add to oil
Sautee vegetables puree and add to tomato mixture add wine
Simmer for 2-4 hrs.

Mango Tilapia



Photo

Mango Tilapia
2 mangos, peeled & cubed
1 red bell, diced
½ C. red onion
½ C. cilantro
juice from 2 limes
4-6 tilapia
salt & pepper
Combine first 5 ingred & chill
Season fish w/ salt & pepper grill and top w/ salsa


Mustard-Coated Pork Chops


Mustard-Coated Pork Chops
4-6 boneless pork chops
7 T Dijon mustard
sea salt & pepper
2 lrg red onions sliced crosswise into 4 rounds
2 t olive oil
1 T white wine vinegar
Coat pork w/ 2 T. Dijon and salt & pepper
Brush w/ remaining mustard coat onion w/ oil and grill
Transfer to foil and cook until tender transfer onion to bowl and
Toss w/vinegar, 2 T. Dijon, salt & pepper

Lime Cilantro Salad


Lime Cilantro Salad
2 T lime juice
1 T chopped cilantro
1 C. ranch dressing
lettuce & grape tomatoes

Beef and Green Chilies


Beef and Green Chilies
1.5 lb cubed stew meat
¼ C. olive oil
2 garlic cloves, minced
2 T. oregano
2 T. Worcestershire
½ C. onion, chopped
14.5 oz can beef broth
2-4oz can chopped green chilies, drained
salt & pepper
2 zucchini, diced
Brown meat in oil, put in croc-pot; add all ingred except zucchini
Add the last hour cook low for 6-8 hours

Pesto Flank Steak

Pesto Flank Steak
1/3 CF. olive oil
2 garlic cloves, minced
2 T. red wine vinegar
1/3 C. soy sauce
¼ C. honey
½ t blk pepper
1.5 lb flank steak
½ C. pesto sauce
Combine first 6 ingred. Marinate steak at least
2 hours Grill basting w/ pesto sauce

Mediterranean Grilled Chicken


Mediterranean Grilled Chicken
Boneless Chicken Breast
14.5 oz. can diced tomatoes, drained
14oz jar quartered artichokes, in marinade
6-8 pitted Kalamata olives, drained
Grill meat… Bring tomatoes, artichokes,olives to a boil
For 1 min spoon sauce over grilled chicken and top w/ feta

Main Courses

Beef & Green Chilies                                                Pesto Flank Steak
    
                                                               
Mustard-Coated Pork Chops                         
                                 
Spaghetti
Spaghetti And Cheese
Mango Tilapia

Img_3705
Tandoori Chicken