Happy Mother’s Day to all the mothers and grandmothers and great ladies out there! I’ve had a GREAT day…haven’t cooked a thing! Thanks to Nate and Cate for a wonderful breakfast in bed AND yummy dinner. We’re heading out for a walk, so I’ll post the song of the week tomorrow. Hope you all have had a great day!

(Cate made this stunning Fruit Loop necklace for me at church today, but she refuses to let me near it…apparently it’s not for me, even though it says “Happy Mothers Day”?!? So far she’s the only one who has gotten to wear it. She looks cuter in it anyway.)

MONDAY
- Hawaiian Pizza
- Spinach Salad

TUESDAY
- Kitchen Sink Quesadillas
- Guacomole & Chips

WEDNESDAY
- Chicken Salad
- Potato Chips
- Fruit & Fruit Dip

THURSDAY, FRIDAY, SATURDAY
- Leftovers? Eating Out? Friends in town…we shall see!

SUNDAY
- Pot Roast
- Mashed Potatoes
- Veggie
- Note: We haven’t had Pot Roast the last 3 Sundays…the roast is waiting patiently in the freezer for me to get my act together!

First off, thanks for all the great comments and suggestions on Trader Joe’s yesterday! That post certainly opened the floodgates!

I can’t believe I haven’t written about the Chocolate Bread Pudding that I made for Easter. Check out the recipe here. It will not disappoint. I love bread pudding, and I LOVE chocolate bread pudding and this recipe made me very happy.

Note: there’s a scheduled 10 min. outage for blogger today at 4PM PDT. also, I’ve been getting errors clicking links today…just re-click and it should work.

I know, I know…those of you without a Trader Joe’s nearby are sick to death of me talking about it! Listen, if you just move somewhere with a TJs you’ll be happier. Really!

Reader Jenny said she has a chance to get some TJs stuff this weekend and wondered what is good. The real question – what isn’t? People ask me all the time what to buy at TJs, so thought I’d share a “quick” TJs shopping list. I’ll divide it by perishable/non-perishable and share my most favorite items. Please share your favorites as well!

Non-perishable:
- Simmer sauces: There are tons of these throughout the store – Indian, Italian, Asian. All the ones I’ve tried are great…Cuban Mojito, Spinach Punjab, Masala, Marsala, Picatta, Cacciatore, Orange (asian) are a few.
- Chocolate covered pretzels (dark chocolate!)
- Great trail mixes, dried fruit, bagged nuts
- Candy nuts – you know, Cocoa Almonds (YUM), etc.
- Whole wheat pasta
- Cereal – TJs brand knock-offs are yummy and great prices on all the cereal
- Kashi TLC crackers – cheaper at TJs
- Hawaiian Potato Chips – salted
- Blue Corn Chips – salted
- Chocolate chips (cheap and GOOD)
- Olive oil and oil spray – good prices
- King Arthur’s flour – great flour, less expensive here
- Pasta sauces – good prices, great flavors
- Canned beans, veggies, fruit – all good prices

Perishable:
- Frozen prepared foods are GREAT. Gnocchi, Mandarin Orange Chicken, Stir Fry packs, Hors D’Ouevres (so many options)
- Frozen meats are well-priced and good
- Eggs are CHEAP
- TJs smooth and creamy yogurt – come in 6-pack, so so so delectable
- Bagged veggies – just snip corner and microwave for perfect veggies
- Pizza crust – in refrig section
- Cheese – I get all my cheese at TJs, cheaper, yummy
- Butter – $2/lb
- Fresh flowers – prices can’t be beat, long-lasting, beautiful
- Cream, cottage cheese, sour cream, cream cheese – I get all this stuff at TJs
- Breads – they have great fresh breads – totally beats grocery store

Oh my, I could go on and on. I’m going to stop. I’m certain I’m forgetting things – please share!

My menu item for today is Oriental Chicken Salad. As you’ll see on my Recipes-Main Dishes page, I have two different oriental chicken salad recipes and both are GREAT. Today’s particular recipe features homemade dressing and wonton strips. SO YUMMY. Give yourself a good 30-45 minutes for frying your strips – I always short change myself on time. The dressing is also AWESOME – on other types of salad as well!

ORIENTAL CHICKEN SALAD:
From: Brittany Reisenberg
Dressing:
1 C oil (canola)
6 T sugar
4 T soy sauce
1/2 C apple cider vinegar
1 1/2 t. ginger
3 shots tobasco sauce
2 T sesame seed

Salad:
3 cooked chicken breasts, shredded
2 small heads iceberg lettuce
4 green onions, chopped
2 stalks celery, cut diagonally
2 small cans mandarin oranges
1 pkg fried wonton strips

Blend all dressing ingredients, except seeds, then add sesame seeds. Mix all salad ingredients. Toss with dressing. YUM!

To make fried wonton strips – buy wonton skins in produce section. Cut squares into 1/3 strips. In pan with oil to cover, cook on medium-high heat until strips are brown, then drain. (Jane’s note: I always sprinkle with a bit of salt as well)

Quick message this week. I just want to say THANK YOU – thank you for your posts, your menus, your ideas, and for coming to the site!

Even though I’ve been a LOSER this past week and only posted twice, I’m back this week. I swear! No more empty promises. Anyway, thanks again, especially for all your great menus while I’ve been out of town.

MONDAY:
- Chicken Marsala
- Whole Wheat pasta
- Salad

TUESDAY:
- Oriental Chicken Salad (check back this week for special feature!)

WEDNESDAY:
- Butternut Squash Soup

THURSDAY:
- Leftovers

FRIDAY:
- Chicken Tostadas

SATURDAY:
- Leftovers

SUNDAY:
- Pot Roast
- Mashed Potatoes
- Veggie

As you all know, I AM home…and surprisingly I did a better job updating the blog on the road than I am right now. You think coming home would simplify life, but no…just as busy and crazy as ever. I need a vacation.

So, starting tomorrow I promise to get back into the food groove. Until then, thought I would highlight some music from the trip.

Cate’s favorite roadtrip tunes: Jack Johnson’s ‘Curious George’ sountrack.She would have listened to this all 22 hours of driving if I would have let her. I can’t count how many times I heard “Baby George songs?” from the backseat. As much as I like Jack, there is a line.

Abby my niece’s favorite party tune: ‘Wind it Up’ by Gwen Stefani.Abby’s got rhythm and always has. (Rest assured, everyone, that I play the NON-explicit version for the 2-year-olds!)

My favorite: This American Life podcasts. I liked these before, but they were PERFECT for a long roadtrip. It’s the #1 podcast on iTunes, so it’ll be easy to find on there. If you haven’t heard it before, check it out as it is GREAT. I know, not music, but still fun!