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.
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.
Coffee Sleeves
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!
Friday, February 17, 2012
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
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
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
Asian Fire Meat
Asian Fire Meat
¼
C. Soy Sauce
1
½ tsp. Sesame Oil
1
TBLS. Brown Sugar
1
½ Cloves Garlic, crushed
½
Lrg red Onion chopped
Blk
Pepper, ½ tsp. red pepper flakes
1
TBLS. Sesame seeds
1
carrot, zucchini
½
pound Beef or Chicken
Serve
w/ rice or roll up in lettuce
Grilled Vegetables:
Grilled Vegetables:
Asparagus,
Red Bell, Zucchini and Eggplant
Salt,
Pepper, Olive Oil and Balsamic
Coconut Chicken
Coconut Chicken
½
C. Olive Oil
¼
C. Lemon Juice
Garlic
to taste & chopped green onions
2
tsp. Lemon Zest
½
tsp. salt & pepper
Marinate
4-5 hours coat w/ coconut and sprinkle w/ Cajun Spice
Grill
Roquefort Pear Salad
Roquefort Pear Salad
Mixed
Lettuce
3
Pears-Pealed, cored and chopped
5
ounces Roquefort Cheese
1
Avocado
½
C. green onions sliced
Carmalize: ¼ C. white Sugar
& ½ C. Pecans
Dressing: mix together 1/3 C.
Olive Oil
3
TBLS. Red Wine Vinegar
1
½ tsp. white Sugar
1
½ tsp. Dijon
1
clove Garlic, chopped
1/2
tsp. salt (pepper to taste)
Chicken Gyros
Chicken Gyros
1
½ ground Chicken
1
C. plain Yogurt
Handful
Parsley chopped
2
Garlic Cloves chopped
1
TBLS. Ground Cumin
1
½ tsp. dried Oregano, Sweet Paprika
1
TBLS. Montreal Steak Seasoning
Olive
Oil
Sauce:
2 Garlic Cloves diced, 1 TBLS. Fresh Dill
¼
C. Cucumber cubed
2
½ C. yogurt (take 1 C. and set aside for meat)
Season
meat w/ first 7 ingred. then brown
Put
in Pita’s and add Tomatoes and Feta
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