It’s Autumn Time

If you know me at all, then you must know that I positively adore Autumn and everything about it.

Crisp, cool nights.  Seeing the trees ablaze with color.  Relishing new beginnings that come with the start of a fresh school year.  The smell of pumpkin, mingled with cinnamon and other spices.  Snuggling under soft, cozy blankets on your bed late at night and early in the morning.  Sipping a steaming mug of hot cocoa.  Indulging in delicious pumpkin chocolate chip bread.

‘Tis the best season indeed.

And since we love Fall, we obviously have to decorate to help us celebrate.  The kids enjoyed helping me put up some simple decorations around the house.

For the last few years we have had fun making egg carton spiders, but this year we decided to try a new spider craft thanks to the generosity of California Raisins.  They sent us a package that included all the ingredients to make a batch of Spooky Raisin Spiders.

The verdict?

The kids had a blast mixing up these no-bake treats in the kitchen and they loved decorating the spiders with colorful eyes and wiggly legs.  Since there is so much candy and sugar around Halloween time, it was nice to have a somewhat more healthy alternative.  (Although, for one of my kids this was especially healthy because she didn’t so much care for the taste of the treat, but she thoroughly enjoyed putting her creative skills to work.)

Many of you probably already have the ingredients on hand to whip up this in-the-kitchen craft-treat, but I am still going to offer one lucky US resident reader the chance to win their own Spooky Raisin Spider kit.

What do you need to do?  Simply leave a comment on this post before Tuesday October 20th.

If you want to be entered into this giveaway three times, then in your comment answer at least one of the following questions:

• What are you or your kiddos going to be for Halloween?
• What do you love about Autumn?

If you want to be entered into this giveaway five times, then write about this giveaway on your blog or your Facebook or Twitter account. If you do this, though, please make sure you tell me in your comment.

I hope you are having a …

Happy Autumn!

Back To Menu Plan Monday

It has been a couple of weeks since I last participated in Menu Plan Monday, mostly because our home life got a bit discombobulated with all the sickness that was plaguing our family. Hopefully, though, good health will now bless our house.

Monday: Red Sauce Enchiladas and veggies

Tuesday: Sweet and Sour Meatballs, rice, veggies and a special birthday dessert for Cory’s third birthday

Wednesday: Leftovers

Thursday: HAPPY VALENTINE’S DAY! (We will probably do take-out from somewhere so I don’t have to cook .)

Friday: Clean out the fridge day

Saturday: Thai Chicken Wraps and fruit

Sunday: My Day Off

For more dinner ideas and Menu Plan Monday participants, please visit Laura of I’m An Organizing Junkie.

Have a LOVELY week!

Sunshine and Menu Plans

This past week has been a busy one, but the fact that the sunshine has been abundant … although it has also been frigidly cold … and the fact that Cory is still making progress with potty training is a good thing. We are definitely taking this process of his slowly, but moving in the right direction is what we are all about.

On to the menu plan for the week:

Monday: Pot Roast with roasted potatoes, carrots, and onions; fruit and rolls

Tuesday: Homemade Chicken Noodle Soup and toast

Wednesday: Leftovers

Thursday: Chicken, Broccoli and Ziti Skillet and fruit

Friday: Leftovers

Saturday: Beef Tacos and veggies

Sunday: My Day Off

For more dinner ideas and Menu Plan Monday participants, please visit Laura of I’m An Organizing Junkie.

Enjoy your week!

First Menu Plan For 2008

Now that we are about half way through the first month of the new year, I am finally finding a little bit more motivation to get things done. It probably helps that there is abundant sunshine today, at least you can call it abundant if you live in the Pacific Northwest. We will take what we can get, even if they really are just extended sunbreaks .

Last week we were still in the re-entry process from extended-vacation-mode so I didn’t get a chance to do a menu plan. Let me tell you, our week suffered because of it. Hopefully this week won’t have quite so many bumps in it … although I still reserve the right to be flexible with our meals. If one week I don’t feel like the meal planned for Tuesday, then I will merely substitute Friday’s meal for it since I have all the ingredients for the week on hand. Flexible meal planning is the best.

One of my goals for 2008 is to also add some new recipes to our cooking rotation, but I don’t have that much motivation in me yet. However, if you would like to see some of my other recipes, feel free to visit the Recipe Tab on the top of my blog.

Monday: Lasagna, fruit and salad

Tuesday: White Sauce Chicken Enchiladas and veggies

Wednesday: Leftovers

Thursday: Kidney Bean Tacos or Beef Tacos

Friday: Leftovers

Saturday: Swiss Chicken Bake, fruit and veggies

Sunday: My Day Off

For more dinner ideas and Menu Plan Monday participants, please visit Laura of I’m An Organizing Junkie.

Recipes And Menu Plans

For a long time I have been wanting to organize the recipes on my blog. Finally, that day has arrived. If you take a gander at the top of my site, you will see a bunch of tabs above my header. On the far right side there is a tag labeled recipes. If you click on it, it will take you to a page where I have all the recipes on my blog alphabetically listed and linked in categories. Have fun perusing!

And in case you were wondering, I finally made the Honey Balsamic Chicken recipe. It was delightful and incredibly easy to make. The sauce was perfect, thick and not runny.

Monday: Curry Croissants, fruit and veggies

Tuesday: Chicken, Broccoli and Ziti Skillet and fruit (Carry over meal from last week.)

Wednesday: Leftovers

Thursday: More Leftovers (I am all for Curry Croissants again!)

Friday: Our Friend’s Annual Christmas Party

Saturday: Sweet and Sour Meatballs, rice and veggies

Sunday: My Day Off

For more dinner ideas and Menu Plan Monday participants, please visit Laura of I’m An Organizing Junkie.

I hope everyone has a very merry and happy holiday season! This is going to be my last Menu Plan Monday for the 2007 year. I am going to be quite the sporadic blogger over the next few weeks since we will be traveling and spending a lot of time with family. However, I am sure you will still get a few posts from me here and there .

Snowflakes and Menu Plans

December is here and what a glorious start to the month we had – Mother Nature blessed us with our first snowfall of the season. My kids were mesmerized by the white, fluffy flakes falling from the sky. They sat with their noses pressed up against the window pane for several minutes as they watched the snow gracefully blanket the earth. I would have snapped a picture of this scene with all of us still in our pajamas and our hair going every which way, but I was too lazy and sneezy to fetch the camera.

We all desperately wanted to go play in the white powder, but we didn’t think it was such a smart idea since all four of us are feeling lousy. Our allergies are still attacking us and some of us now have secondary infections. It’s miserable being cooped up. I just hope we all get better before Christmas arrives.

Monday: Meat and Pasta Bake, veggies and fruit

Tuesday: Chicken, Broccoli and Ziti Skillet and fruit

Wednesday: Leftovers

Thursday: Honey Balsamic Chicken, baked potatoes and veggies (Carry over meal from last week – when I make it I will let you know how this version turned out.)

Friday: My Husband’s Holiday Work/Graduate School Party

Saturday: Spaghetti, fruit and veggies

Sunday: My Day Off

For more dinner ideas and Menu Plan Monday participants, please visit Laura of I’m An Organizing Junkie.

Allergies and Menu Plans

Allergies, me and the State of Washington – we don’t mix very well. For whatever reason, since moving to the Pacific Northwest, my allergies have become a year long annoyance. I am sure it has something to do with the 3 M’s that thrive here: mold, mildew and moss.

And instead of being plagued with the typical watery and itchy eyes, sneezing and congestion, my allergies in this region of the country make their presence known through killer sore throats. Unfortunately, often times these will turn into upper respiratory infections. Ugh.

Needless to say, this Thanksgiving weekend could have been better. All well, at least I felt relatively healthy on the actual day of the feast . Thanks John and Laura for being fabulous hosts!

On to the menu plan …

Monday: Swiss Chicken Bake and veggies (This is a carry over meal from last week. It is a great dish to prepare if you are looking for ways to get rid of leftover stuffing and turkey.)

Tuesday: Tacos and fruit

Wednesday: Leftovers

Thursday: Honey Balsamic Chicken, baked potatoes and veggies (I haven’t made this recipe yet, but my friend Liz says it is extremely tasty.)

Friday: Leftovers

Saturday: Sloppy Joes, fruit and veggies

Sunday: My Day Off

For more dinner ideas and Menu Plan Monday participants, please visit Laura of I’m An Organizing Junkie.

Menu Plan Monday – Nov. 19, 2007

Happy Thanksgiving Week!

My mouth is already watering as I sit here and think of all the delicious foods I am going to be able to indulge in on Thursday – turkey, stuffing, homemade rolls, mashed potatoes, green bean casserole, green jello, candied yams, pumpkin pie … I can hardly wait.

And of course I am excited to see our fabulous friends who are hosting the special dinner. Maybe they will be kind and send us home with a little bit of leftovers if they have any extra. After all, one of the best things about Thanksgiving … besides giving thanks of course … is eating all the scrumptious leftovers. Being raised in a family of 11, our leftovers always seemed to go within a few days. You had to act quickly if you wanted to partake of seconds and thirds on the days following the big feast .

Last week for Menu Plan Monday, I decided I wanted to start utilizing the older food that was in our pantry in preparation for us moving sometime next Fall. This week the item will be tuna fish.

Monday: Santa Fe Chicken Salad leftovers

Tuesday: Leftovers

Wednesday: Tuna Casserole and veggies (I promise this is not a scary recipe. There are no raisins or carrots in this dish, but there is some curry. Yum!)

Thursday: Our Thanksgiving Feast

Friday: Leftovers

Saturday: Swiss Chicken Bake and veggies (This is the perfect meal to make if you have a lot of leftover stuffing.)

Sunday: My Day Off

For more dinner ideas, especially for the days when at 5:00 in the evening you still have no idea what to make, please visit Laura of I’m An Organizing Junkie.

Menu Planning From The Pantry

Hopefully by this time next year, my husband will finally be done with his more than 10 year stint of college and graduate school – Hallelujah! He will be adding a PhD to his two bachelors’ and master’s degrees.

Since we only have about a year left in our current apartment, I want to make sure I start utilizing all the food in our pantry because I don’t like having to waste things when we move. No matter how hard I try to stay on top of things, it always seems like there are items in our pantry that were purchased, then never used and now they have long been forgotten.

In order to avoid having to throw these things away, every week I am going to base at least one of my meals on a food item I need to use up. This week the item is from the fridge, Feta Cheese. I recently rediscovered this fun pasta salad that requires Feta Cheese. It is really quite tasty.

Monday: Feta Cheese and Chicken Pasta Salad and fruit

Tuesday: Sweet and Sour Meatballs, rice and veggies

Wednesday: Leftovers

Thursday: Chili Mac Skillet and Fruit

Friday: Clean out the fridge day

Saturday: Santa Fe Chicken Salad and fruit

Sunday: My day off

For more dinner ideas, especially for the days when at 5:00 in the evening you still have no idea what to make, please visit Laura of I’m An Organizing Junkie.

Feta Cheese and Chicken Pasta Salad

At first I thought this pasta salad had an unusual combination of ingredients, but when I finally hesitantly tried it, my mouth was pleasantly surprised. This meal is easy to make for a simple family lunch or dinner, and it can also be doubled or tripled and served at a large gathering.

Feta Cheese and Chicken Pasta Salad

1 large tomato, diced

1 pepper, diced (green, orange, red or yellow)

1 large onion, diced

1 cucumber, quartered

1 cup frozen peas (cooked through, cool, but not hot)

1 lb chicken (I prefer using chicken tenders), thawed

1/2 cup to 1 cup Feta Cheese

16 oz package spiral pasta or similar shaped noodle, cooked

Italian Dressing

Catalina Dressing

Pepper

Salt

Lemon Pepper

Follow package directions and cook pasta. Pound thawed chicken with a meat tenderizer. Place chicken in a greased skillet (I use PAM, but you can use oil or butter) and season with pepper, salt and small amount of lemon pepper. Add 1 tablespoon or so of Italian Dressing. Cook each side of chicken about 7 minutes or until done. Remove from pan to cool. Slice the chicken.

In the same skillet, place the diced onion and pepper. Splash equal amounts of Italian and Catalina Dressing to flavor the mixture, start out with small amounts. Cook until the peppers are tender crisp, about 3-5 minutes.

Add chicken and vegetable mixture to cooked pasta and stir thoroughly. When the meal is ready to serve, add remaining veggies and cheese. Add more dressing to taste … I prefer adding more Catalina, but not Italian.

Since I like to keep the pasta salad for leftovers, I don’t add any Feta cheese, cucumber, tomato or extra salad dressing to the main dish. I add that at each individual serving. I typically use 2 tablespoons of Feta cheese for each serving.

Enjoy!

My Passion For All Things Pumpkin

Right now I seem to have a myriad of different post ideas flittering around in my head, all of which I would like to eventually write about. The topics are vast and varied. They range from discussing the over scheduling of young kids and the sometimes insane expectations placed upon them by parents, to the current disastrous economic and political state of our country, to immature drivers who always have to get the last honk in … seriously.

However, since my brain is tired and it feels like it is about to shut down, I am going to go with a much lighter post subject – pumpkin and the food you can make from it.

Not only do I positively love the Autumn season, but I adore nearly every food item that has to do with pumpkin. And of course these are healthy items … pumpkin is a vegetable, right ?

1. Pumpkin Roll Cake – If you have not experienced this heavenly dessert, pumpkin cake rolled around a to-die-for cream cheese frosting, then you are definitely missing out on life.

2. Pumpkin Chocolate Chip Muffins - This recipe is delicious.

3. Pumpkin Cupcakes – Cream cheese frosting is a must.

4. Pumpkin Squares

5. Pumpkin Chocolate Chip Cookies

6. Pumpkin Milkshakes

7. Pumpkin Cheesecake – I am in love with this seasonal dessert at The Cheesecake Factory. Maybe I should send my husband to go get some.

8. Pumpkin Pie – It needs to have real whipped cream on it.

And here are some other delicacies I would like to try:

9. Pumpkin Soup

10. Pumpkin Waffles or Pancakes

11. Pumpkin Coffee Cake

12. Pumpkin Mousse

13. Pumpkin Pudding

What are some of your favorite holiday desserts? Please share so I can have even more of a reason to indulge in scrumptious tasting food .

The Countdown Begins

Eight weeks.

There are only eight piddly weeks left in the year 2007. That astounds me. I know these weeks are going to zoom by incredibly fast, but I am going to do my absolute best to enjoy them and turn them into memories I can always cherish.

Last week as part of my menu plan, I tried a new recipe called Honey Balsamic Chicken. It turned out pretty tasty, but not as good as I was hoping it to be. If any of you have ever had the Honey Balsamic Chicken at Macaroni Grill, that is what I am trying to recreate. Next time I make it I might try using more honey. I want a thicker glaze as opposed to a runny sauce.

Anyone have any suggestions or great recipes for this dish? I will take all the advice I can get. Until I get the recipe how I like it, though, I am not going to post it … unless someone is dying for it now .

Monday: Curry Croissants and veggies

Tuesday: Homemade Chicken Noodle Soup

Wednesday: Leftovers.

Thursday: Thai Chicken Wraps

Friday: Clean out the fridge day.

Saturday: Creamy Herbed Pork Chops, potatoes and veggies

Sunday: My day off.

For more dinner ideas, especially for the days when at 5:00 in the evening you still have no idea what to make, please visit Laura of I’m An Organizing Junkie.