I decided to change my meal plan slightly today {which was actually Sunday, with two sick kids this took a minute to write. And by a minute, I mean 2 days}. If you recall from yesterday’s post, I was “planning” on making beef stew with skillet cornbread. But like I said in the comments to reader Tamara, I totally fudge my plan based on what’s on hand, whether or not I procrastinated, and other life factors. Today’s life factor was a tube of Sunsweet Prunes on the verge of expiring. Prunes, eww, right? Hey I bought them when I was … Continue reading

So you may recall that I hinted in a past post that I would share my focaccia recipe. Well a funny thing happened while I was in the process of writing that post. Ever the ADD addled multi-tasking person that I am, I was “watching” the Food Network while writing my Vines, Views, and Vinaigrette post. {If you recall, I was talking about how I like to put Trader Joe’s Everday seasoning on my homemade focaccia.} And on the Food Network was this show called My Grandmother’s Ravioli with Mo Rocca where they were making focaccia. Besides the strange coincidence, I noticed … Continue reading

For the last 3 weeks we have been “meal planning”, that is, planning out our meals for the week BEFORE going grocery shopping. It’s an awesome budgeting tool because we have spent less than $200 in two weeks {$67 this week and $90 the week before}. This is a huge deal for me because I usually spend about $120 a week at Super Target {so it includes all of my household needs in addition to grocery}. Quick shout out to The Frugal Girl and The Frugalette for the idea! What does this have to do with Cajun Chicken Pasta? Well … Continue reading

So as you may or may not know, we love us some hockey in this house. More specifically, we love our Los Angeles Kings. But ever since Dustin Penner joined the Kings late last season, he has been something of a running joke in this house {and I think other households too} for his failure to, well, score. Dustin Penner rally towel anyone? Inside joke…a very inappropriate one at that. Anyhoo, the current running joke/press linking Penner with pancakes and the ensuing nicknames, Pennercakes, aka Penner Pancakes, aka Uncle Penner’s pancakes, etc have actually endeared the guy to us. So … Continue reading

When I was a little girl, I was obsessed with the Little House on the Prairie books. I read every single one at least 2 times. I loved the simple life depicted in the books: horses, covered wagons, cotton poplin dresses, braided hair, one-room school houses, water from a well. It was pure fantasy to a girl growing up in the ‘burbs. One of the things I remember was the rustic diet of the pioneers. They lived off what they grew, bartered for, or what was sold in the General Store. Provisions were often in short supply and tended toward the simple: … Continue reading

I’m not sure if I have mentioned that I hate my husband’s new schedule, but I do. I really [bleeping] hate it. Life is just really difficult when hubby is on a completely different schedule than all of us. Mealtimes, I may have mentioned, are especially difficult since he leaves at 3:30 pm. Usually he will eat the previous night’s leftovers for lunch and I will pack whatever I made for dinner for work. For some reason, I am having a problem adjusting my brain to getting dinner started in the morning. Since the baby has joined us, the majority … Continue reading

I’m pretty proud of some of the ways I have challenged myself in the kitchen since I started this blog. It has definitely improved my confidence in the kitchen. Yes, some things went wrong, but everything was edible in the end. And I count edible in the win column. So when my dear step-grandmother passed away, I boldly offered to bake a cake for the reception after the funeral. Now it is one thing for me to make something new for my immediate family, it is an entire other thing for me to put myself out there at a funeral. … Continue reading

So you learned from my pozole post that I have absolutely no shame about making enchiladas with cream of chicken soup. They’re so good, in fact, that I have totally abandoned making the real deal stuff anymore. They just aren’t as good. Seriously. So now that you are intrigued on how soup stole enchilada sauce’s thunder I will show you how to make it ’cause I’m nice. They are souper hard to make too so pay attention! {not really} Note: adapted from a Campbell soup recipe Natalie’s White Girl Soup-er Enchiladas  Serves: 4-5 INGREDIENTS: 2 large boneless chicken breasts 1 can … Continue reading

In my previous post I mentioned that my husband was downstairs baking while I was slowly dying from soy sauce poisoning. Okay so I didn’t actually die but I was hurting pretty badly and he was MIA. To add insult to injury he actually made something really yummy and super fattening that is competing with my Yogurt Banana Oat Muffins for precious stomach space. Dang. So I didn’t get any pictures because I was doubled over a toilet but I did find this downstairs the next morning. I also found this: This yummy breakfast cake {then again, every cake is breakfast … Continue reading

Chinese New Year starts on Monday and as with any holiday, I immediately think of food. {To be honest, with three meals a day and at least two snacks, I think about food often.} Dinner time rolls around last night and I really didn’t like hubby’s idea for dinner: more of the Costco pizza we ate for lunch. I like pizza but not twice a day. Besides, I had a pound of defrosted ground beef I didn’t use the night before. Well, there are only a few things you can make with ground beef so obviously I think of meatballs because … Continue reading