This Week for Dinner – Weekly Meal Plans, Dinner Ideas, Recipes and More!: Uncategorized

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Friday, August 14

“I love subs!” OR “What’s wrong with this sub?” This is a blog post with an identity crisis.

This post was originally going to be all about how much I love subs/hoagies/grinders/ whatever-you-want-to-call-them. How I live in California and getting a decent meatball or steak and cheese sub is IMPOSSIBLE. How, when you’re in the Northeast, no matter how small the town, you can always find a pizza place that serves up delicious sandwiches. Then I started editing my photo for the post, and my dear mother-in-law (she really is dear, by the way) looked over my shoulder and started to list all the reasons the sub pictured is no good.

She has challenged you all, what’s wrong with this sub? And it’s not just one thing…

Regardless of your personal feelings for this particular sub, I still stand by my original premis…I MISS SUBS. Maybe I need to open a bagel/sub shop in California? Except the last thing in the world I want to do is run a restaurant. Guess I’ll have to settle for once a year.

Posted by Jane Maynard at 5:00 am 14 Comments
Categories: Uncategorized
Wednesday, July 15

Olallieberry Picking!

We recently went olallieberry picking! You may be thinking, “Olalawhat?” You’re not alone – I just discovered them myself. Olallieberries are grown primarily in California and are a cross between the loganberry (which is a cross between raspberries & blackberries) and the youngberry (which is a cross between blackberries & dewberries).

Now that you know the olallieberry’s genealogy {yawn}, on to the fun stuff! We picked our olallieberries at Phipps Country Store & Farm in Pescadero, CA…a lovely spot nestled in the hills near the ocean. How beautifully northern California is that view?

Phipps Farm was so fun, a great place to take your kids. Old tractors all over the place and more chickens than you can imagine (Anna’s favorite attraction by far). We went with one of Cate’s little friends and his family. It was just a really happy afternoon.

The kids had a BLAST picking berries, which are ripe when they are BLACK. Needless to say, Anna was almost exclusively attracted to the bright red berries…which sadly were as sour as could be!

Phipps had the largest assortment of beans I’ve ever seen. They were beautiful and I had to resist the urge to photograph every bean I saw.

There are two sure signs that berry picking was a great success.

Sign #1: Ridiculously dirty kids.

Sign #2: Ridiculously delicious homemade jam.

In case you’re wondering…for my olallieberry jam, I followed the freezer jam directions for raspberries from the pectin box.

Posted by Jane Maynard at 12:50 am 10 Comments
Categories: Uncategorized
Monday, July 13

Free Random Giveaway: HauteMammas.com Calling Cards

This Giveaway is now Closed. Thank you!

In addition to “mom” and “food blogger,” I am also a graphic designer…a title that actually pays some of the bills! HauteMammas.com is one of my fabulous graphic design clients. They are a mom-owned business and sell personalized calling cards, thank you notes, gift labels, address labels and MORE!

HauteMammas.com just relaunched their website, and I wanted to make sure you see it…both because I had a big hand in the site design (ain’t it cute?) and they have great products that you NEED! In fact, use the code TWFD 20 to get 20% off your order from now until Noon PT on July 31!

In honor of the site launch, HauteMammas.com is giving away one FREE set of CALLING CARDS! (Retail value $65.00) There are oodles of adorable designs to choose from and the print quality is amazing. These are great to have in your purse, instead of having to jot down your email and phone number on the back of a receipt! Or get a set for that teenager in your life with a babysitting business!

To enter for your chance to win a set of fabulous HauteMammas.com calling cards, simply add a comment to this post. Only one entry per person, please! Please comment before Midnight, Friday July 17 to enter. I will announce the lucky, random winner on Saturday, July 18.

And don’t foget to use the code TWFD 20 to get 20% your purchase. Good luck with the giveaway!

Posted by Jane Maynard at 3:11 pm 81 Comments
Categories: Uncategorized
Monday, February 9

‘Taste This’ Cookbook & Apron Giveaway Winner!

Time to announce the winner of the Taste This! and Oilcloth Alley apron giveaway! And the winner is…

Allison, who said, “ooh, the adorableness! love love love.”

Congratulations, Allison! And thank you to Gina von Esmarch for such a fantastic giveaway!

Posted by Jane Maynard at 10:00 am 2 Comments
Categories: Uncategorized
Friday, January 2

New Year’s Resolutions

I have mixed feelings about New Year’s resolutions. In theory I want to make them. In practice, well, I think I’m just plain scared to. Whenever I start drafting goals in my head, I feel like I’m setting myself up for failure.

Despite my resolution wishy-washiness, I do think a LOT about my “resolutions” every year, ponder on the myriad of ways in which I could improve myself. Trust me, it’s an oversized myriad. And while I am yet again afraid to pull the trigger and make any specific goals, I do have a few things I want to work on.

DE-STRESS. I’m not sure yet how to do this. But I know I need to.

EXERCISE. Yup, the ultimate resolution cliché. I’m thinking of getting back into yoga. I love it. I feel good when I do it. And it will invariably help with the de-stress goal.

WAKE UP! This involves going to bed earlier, getting up earlier, being less tired!!!

Do you make resolutions? How do you make them? Any sure-fire success tactics you can share?

Oh…and since this IS a meal planning website…I challenge you all to make meal planning one of YOUR resolutions this year. Click here for a few posts about why it’s so great. Seriously, this is one good addition for your resolution list. Yeah, and selfishly I’m hoping to get more of your menus up here each week!

Can’t wait to hear all your resolution thoughts!

Posted by Jane Maynard at 11:07 am 5 Comments
Categories: Uncategorized
Friday, December 19

Don’t Forget! ProFlowers Giveaway!

Last chance to enter the ProFlowers free, random giveaway. To enter, click here to add a comment on the original giveaway post. You have until Midnight (PT) TONIGHT! Good Luck!

Posted by Jane Maynard at 2:27 pm No Comments
Categories: Uncategorized
Monday, December 15

ProFlowers Happy Holiday Giveaway!

This giveaway is now closed. Thank you!

You know I love ProFlowers…and the love affair continues. Look at this GORGEOUS wreath I just received from ProFlowers. I seriously love it. I saw another eucalyptus wreath at the store today and thought, “Bah! Mine is better!” If you send this wreath to someone, they will love you forever.

It’s the holidays, which means another ProFlowers giveaway on This Week for Dinner! Yea! Two randomly-selected TWFD readers will each receive a $100 gift card to use at ProFlowers.com. Yes, it’s the holidays and you can use your winnings for gifts…but I won’t tell if you order yourself a nice bouquet and some hand-dipped berries (my personal fave). You deserve it!

You know the drill…leave a comment, any comment, by Midnight PT, Friday, December 19. Only one entry per person, please. Winners will be announced on Saturday, December 20.

Big thanks to ProFlowers. And for 15% off your entire order, click here, or on any ‘ProFlowers’ reference in this post…just in time for the holidays!

Posted by Jane Maynard at 4:32 pm 198 Comments
Categories: Uncategorized
Friday, November 14

Happy Eats Club: The Series Finale

The Happy Eats Club has gone the way of a bad TV drama series. Those of you who have been waiting with bated breath for updates on our progress (I’m sure there are millions of you) will be sad to know the Happy Eats Club is extinct. Kaputt.

The club actually worked great! And we’re planning on doing it again in the new year. But we’re only going to do it for 5 weeks at a time, instead of 10. Oh, and people are going to think long and hard about their rules next time. Here are a few lessons learned:
- The people who completely cut out sugar owed the most money to the pot.
- My friend Mindy and I had the most successful, sustainable rules. Mindy simply cut “sweets”. You can see my rules on the original post here.

I think our experiment proved what I’ve always believed: Moderation in all things. The week when I totally cut things out (white sugar, white flour, dairy)…I was MISERABLE. The 5 weeks where I had rules to follow that simply limited the bad stuff and increased the good stuff, I was successful and in a good mood to boot!

So, how has the first week without the Happy Eats Club gone? Terrible. I’m right back to not drinking enough water or eating enough fruits/veggies. Knowing I would owe money if I didn’t get that stuff in was an amazing motivator. Mindy and I may start back up again in a week or two. Looks like I need it!

Angie, another member of the club, just told us she misses our constant email exchanges bemoaning our sugarless states and has proposed a sit-up club. 100 sit-ups a day? I’m totally going to owe money.

For those of you thinking of doing something like this, you should! It really works and helps with motivation, whatever rules you decide to follow.

Posted by Jane Maynard at 6:00 pm 5 Comments
Categories: Uncategorized
Thanksgiving Post on Real Simple

Good morning, everyone! From yesterday’s comments, it sounds like many of you are getting your Thanksgiving planning game on! I’m excited to plan with you over the next few weeks!

Be sure to check out my guest post on the Real Simple Simply Stated blog today! It should be helpful for the early stages of planning!

Posted by Jane Maynard at 10:31 am 4 Comments
Categories: Uncategorized
Monday, October 27

Featured Recipe: Thai Chicken Pizza

One thing we really miss in San Diego is Leucadia Pizza. And one of our favorites at Leucadia is the Thai Chicken Pizza. If you live in San Diego and you are NOT eating this pizza, it’s a crime.

I’ve begun my quest to recreate it. And I think I’m almost there!

THAI CHICKEN PIZZA
- Pizza crust (homemade, TJ’s $1 crust, whatever)
- Shredded carrots (about 1/2 – 3/4 of a carrot…1 full carrot was a little much)
- Bean sprouts
- Chopped green onion
- Chicken breast, cut into small cubes or strips and sauteed in olive oil (season with s&p)
- Peanuts (I went with roasted unsalted…you don’t need the salt on the peanuts)
- Peanut Sauce
- Chopped Cilantro
- Mozzarella Cheese

A few notes:
Leucadia’s peanut sauce really makes the pizza. A perfect blend of sweet and spicy. I tried the Trader Joe’s Satay Peanut Sauce. It was definitely not sweet enough and the texture wasn’t right.

I just bought Organic Peanut Sauce at Whole Foods. I think this just might do it. I haven’t used it on the pizza yet, but I added some brown sugar to the sauce and it tastes awesome. And the texture is better for pizza. Next time I make the pizza, I’ll let you know how this sauce goes. I think it will be a winner!

Whenever I make homemade pizza, I always put all the toppings on top of the sauce and add the mozzarella cheese last. Especially with fresh herbs. It’s the way to go.

If anyone has a recipe for a great peanut sauce, please share!

Posted by Jane Maynard at 9:58 pm 14 Comments
Categories: Uncategorized
Friday, October 17

New Real Simple Show

If you’re anything like me, you love Real Simple magazine OODLES. So, I thought I would let you know there’s a new Real Simple show on TLC (which I also love…Stacy & Clinton, John & Kate, I’m addicted). Real Simple sent me an advance copy of the Real Simple. Real Life. pilot episode, which airs TONIGHT at 8 pm. It was cute and, no offense to the subject Emily, it made me feel pretty darn good about the state of my own house (wait til you see her garage!!).

You may be thinking, this is just another in a long line of makeover shows. But I like this one for a few reasons. A) You get to see cool Real Simple ideas actually implemented in people’s real homes. B) They makeover all aspects of a person’s life…organization, FOOD, clothes, make-up, money, etc. Nate said, it will be good as long as the hosts don’t get too annoying…hee hee…um, can we say, Extreme Makeover Home Edition?!?! So, if you’re home on a Friday night (don’t worry, I always am)…check it out!

Posted by Jane Maynard at 10:30 am 1 Comment
Categories: Uncategorized
Monday, October 13

Guest spot on Cafe Johnsonia

It’s a busy blog day for me! If you are interested, I did a little guest spot over on Cafe Johnsonia. Thanks, Lindsey, for the opportunity! Cafe Johnsonia is a great food blog if you haven’t been, so hop to it!

Posted by Jane Maynard at 10:00 am No Comments
Categories: Uncategorized
Saturday, July 26

Eric Kayser, Artisan Boulanger

We visited many patisseries & boulangeries in Paris, but Eric Kayser on Rue du Bac on the Left Bank was our most visited boulangerie. It was right by our apartment and everything we had there was amazing (including that pain au chocolat which melted in my mouth…). Anyway, just took some pretty shots there and wanted to share them with you! I will surely miss Eric Kayser.

This little guy right here was my favorite…chocolate, almond paste, croissant…perfection.

Posted by Jane Maynard at 1:20 pm 3 Comments
Categories: Uncategorized
Thursday, July 24

Tarts

How about some lovely tarts today? Chocolate and rhubarb sounds good to me.

P.S. They just don’t make ‘em like this in the States. How I wish you all could taste this crust. Amazing.

Posted by Jane Maynard at 11:40 pm 6 Comments
Categories: Uncategorized
Wednesday, July 23

French Lunch

After spending the morning in the Louvre, we stopped at a small cafe for lunch. We ordered a baguette avec poulet and some traditional veggies. This was honestly one of my favorite meals so far.

The vegetable bowl had traditional shredded carrots, beats & lentils. All three were great, but I think the lentils were my favorite.

The chicken in this simple sandwich was roasted and packed full of flavor. And of course the baguette was amazing.

Posted by Jane Maynard at 12:01 am 5 Comments
Categories: Uncategorized
Tuesday, July 22

Boulangerie et Patisserie, Rue St. Jacob

See that pastry on the top left? That was breakfast the other morning. Almond & chocolate yumminess.

And the baguettes on the left and in the middle. Yea, we ate those too. With camembert & brie…more on the cheese later.

Posted by Jane Maynard at 11:51 pm 5 Comments
Categories: Uncategorized
Monday, July 14

Some may smoke, others may drink…I prefer Kettle S&P Chips

Oh man, I am so addicted to Kettle Sea Salt & Ground Black Pepper potato chips. This trip to Europe was going to help me break the addiction. Until I stopped at the grocery store in Berlin today. Needless to say, I’ve relapsed.

Posted by Jane Maynard at 9:00 am 1 Comment
Categories: Uncategorized
Friday, July 4

Happy 4th of July!

Posted by Jane Maynard at 6:59 pm 1 Comment
Categories: Uncategorized
Monday, June 16

Week 73 Menu & Happy Father’s Day!

Happy Father’s Day to you dads out there! (I know there are at least a few of you who read this!)

We ate well for Father’s Day today, including smoothies in our new blender. Our old blender STUNK, so I’m very excited about our new Cuisinart blender. It’s no Vita-Mix, which is still my dream blender, but until I can shell out the cash, this puppy is working great. Smoothies here I come!

MONDAY:
- Easy Apricot Chicken
- Rice
- Veggie

TUESDAY:
- Quiche
- Fresh fruit
- Baguette & cheese

WEDNESDAY:
- Homemade pizza (click through and look for “Uncle Tony’s Pizza Crust”
- Salad

THURSDAY:
- Leftovers

FRIDAY:
- BLTs
- Smoothies
- Chips

SATURDAY:
- Eat out

SUNDAY:
- Pot roast
- Mashed potatoes
- Veggie

Last week was awesome…so many comments and menus! Keep up the great work! I’ve been stealing your ideas a LOT lately as I plan. I’m so happy you’re all here to help me.

Posted by Jane Maynard at 12:04 am 15 Comments
Categories: Uncategorized
Friday, May 9

Stamp Out Hunger Food Drive

Tomorrow, Saturday May 10 is the national Stamp Out Hunger Food Drive, sponsored by the National Association of Letter Carriers. Simply place non-perishable food next to your mailbox tomorrow. Your letter carrier will pick it up and deliver to your local food bank. It’s an awesome and easy way to make a difference!

Please visit the Stamp Out Hunger website for more info or contact your local post office to confirm their participation.

So, go grab some cans out of your pantry and put them by your mailbox. I’m going to. I just hope my grumpy mailman doesn’t throw the cans at me. Okay, I’m sure even HE will be happy tomorrow knowing he’s doin’ some good!

Posted by Jane Maynard at 5:10 pm 1 Comment
Categories: Uncategorized