Now that Easter and Passover are behind us, all the food has been cooked and the dishes are done (maybe), it’s time to take a little break and curl up with a good book…

“The History of Love: A Novel”by Nicole Krauss is one of my favorites. This book is beautifully written and has a creative and touching story. And I sobbed at the end. And then I sobbed just telling Nate about the book. I was a mess, but in a good way – trust me, you WANT to read it!

Jen was the hostess that month and served up make-your-own pizzas. It was loads of fun and delicious! This is a great idea and a definite crowd pleaser, for kids and adults alike!

Pizza was on last week’s menu, but Trader Joe’s was out of crust, so I had to break down and make it from scratch. If you haven’t before, it’s not hard. Visit Recipes-Main Dishes for a recipe from my friend’s Italian uncle.

Please check out Maren’s comment on yesterday’s Easter post and share your hammy ideas! And please post your menus on the weekly menu posts…any menu welcome any day of the week!

Happy Easter and Happy Spring to everyone! The Easter Bunny visited Cate…oh what fun! I was talking to my friend Ruth yesterday and she shared her family Easter tradition with me…eating Mediterranean-type food for Easter dinner. What a fun and thoughtful way to celebrate Easter!

The Song of the Week is “Spring” from Vivaldi’s The Four Seasons. It’s hard to decide, but I think it is probably my favorite of Vivaldi’s seasons. And perfect for today!

MONDAY:
– Leftovers

TUESDAY:
I STILL haven’t made these… it’s going to happen this week! The pesto’s been ready for weeks (in the freezer)
– Chili Chicken Skewers
– Rice with Cilantro Pesto
– Asparagus or Chunky Banana Sweet Potato Mash

WEDNESDAY:
– Chicken Stir Fry
– Dumplings

THURSDAY:
– Hamburgers
– Baked French Fries

FRIDAY:
– Leftovers

SATURDAY:
– Chicken Marsala
– Whole wheat pasta
– Veggie

SUNDAY:
– Chicken Piccata
– Mashed potatoes
– Green beans

It’s been cloudy and gloomy here in San Diego the last few days, so I think we’re due for some comfort food. Last time I made Beef Stew, Cate GOBBLED it up! Hopefully other toddlers out there will follow suit…always nice to find something they’ll eat!

This recipe is from my mom, who is notorious for giving non-recipe-recipes, where you have to guess amounts, etc. Despite the lack of direction, it IS easy to make. Let me know if you have questions! Note: I put the carrots and celery in before the potatoes so the potatoes don’t get too mushy, but some people don’t mind it and like how the potatoes thicken the stew.

Featured Recipe: Beef Stew

 

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Hearty beef stew! Yum!

Author: Jane Maynard

Recipe type: Main Dish, Meat

Ingredients

• beef stew meat / round steak (appx amount: 1½ lb)
• butter/olive oil
• onion (I chop ½ of an onion)
• beef broth (appx 4 Cups; mom uses beef concentrate and water, I have bouillon)
• celery
• carrots
• potatoes
• flour/water thickening
• salt & pepper to taste

Instructions

1. Brown the meat and onions. Add broth to cover meat and simmer for a few hours. Add vegetables. When they’re not quite done, add thickening. Season.

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These puppies are PURE indulgence for me. I know, an indulgence-focused post may not be the BEST for closing Lenten Season. But it’s better than my original Beef Stew post on Good Friday (which will be re-published tomorrow). I’m cracking myself up over here. As long as I make someone laugh, right?

Back to the salty & sweet treat. Seriously, it doesn’t matter what kind of chocolate pretzel or where you get it from (although, dark chocolate is pretty dang good). I just love them. I must confess I may be a bit obsessed, but I expect to pull out of the obsession in time (I tend do that with things, like Ben Harper music for example, couldn’t get enough, then realized this week I skip him on shuffle half the time – obsession over – phew). This pretzel fixation would do my body well to end soon. Cross your fingers…but don’t hold your breath.

A TWFD reader recently asked a great question that I think deserves a post for sure! Here’s the question:

“I was wanting to know {if any of you] work from a food budget and if you do how you set your budget. I feel like I spend way too much at the grocery store and never have what I really want in the house…does this happen to anyone out there? Do you guys set your menu for the week and then make your list and only buy according to your list? Any ideas or suggestions would be appreciated.”

Planning my meals for each week DEFINITELY helps me save money!!! I make a list based on my menu and don’t deviate from the list – this is a great help in the budget department.

I personally don’t have a set budget (I should!), but I generally spend $80-$100/wk (including diapers). As far as the amount you should be budgeting…the average grocery spend for a family of 3 in the U.S. is $101/week. Miserly Mom on The Dollar Stretcher said when her budget was tightest she spent $10/person/week – wow!

Here are a few things I do or keep in mind when planning and shopping each week. My bottom line: You can certainly keep to a strict budget if you’re willing to make the effort and, in some cases, spend the extra time. I pick and choose the ways I save money, balancing time spent with money saved.

• I go to more than one store to get best prices. Every week I go to Ralphs and Trader Joe’s.
• When I can, I go to Henry’s (a local San Diego chain market) for produce. I encourage you to find local markets where you live to save on produce (and more!).
• Trader Joe’s has the best prices on a lot of items (butter, eggs, bread, crackers, cheese, etc). A lot of times they carry the same exact item as the grocery store and it will be cheaper than the grocery store’s SALE price. Example: King Arthur’s flour is $3.00 on SALE at Ralphs right now, but $2.79 regularly at TJs.
• Get a club card and only buy sale items at your grocery store.
• Buy in bulk! Costco, BJs, Sam’s Club are all good candidates. I am not good about doing this. I should buy more bulk stuff. Also, Costco has great prices on meat and it is great quality, however…
• You can get great sale prices on meat at your regular grocery store! Just keep an eye out. I always get my boneless/skinless chicken breasts at Vons – they regularly go on sale for as low as $1.79/lb (Costco is $3.00/lb), so I buy a bunch and freeze it.
• Buy FRESH foods. Packaged and processed foods tend to be more expensive. A cartful of veggies is more filling, cheaper and much healthier.
• Coupons. The key to really saving money with coupons: use them on sale items and at stores that double coupons. Newspapers and weekly grocery store mailers will tell you the sale items each week and websites like The Grocery Game help with that as well. I’ve done coupon shopping in the past, and I did save money, but in the long run it’s not for me so I don’t use them anymore. If you are willing to spend the time, it can be a real money saver!

Please post your suggestions and tips!

Today’s post may seem like a no-brainer to a lot of you, but for me it was a fairly recent “bright idea.” Figured I may as well share! If you’re smarter than me, than just move on and come back tomorrow. 🙂

So, first let me say if I offend any diet soda drinkers out there, I apologize. That said, I hate artificial sweeteners. I don’t like the taste, but I’m also a firm believer that eating less of something natural and “unhealthy” (i.e. sugar, butter, etc) is healthier than eating something “fake,” (i.e. said sweeteners, transfats, etc). See, there I go offending people… ANYWAY…I HATE light yogurt because it has all those yucky tasting artificial sweeteners. (Clarification – low fat yogurt is different from light and is just fine with me.)

The problem: regular yogurt (low or regular fat content) has so much sugar in it! One day I said to Nate, why can’t they do light yogurt that simply has less sugar in it? Well, “the man” may not do it for me, but I can do it myself! I’ve started mixing my yogurt with plain! It’s not as sweet but still tastes good to me (and Cate!) and comes with a lot less guilt, half to be exact. I know, DUH. But I’m happy I finally figured this out! Yes, plain yogurt all by its lonesome is definitely the healthiest, but I’m not eatin’ that stuff. 🙂

Easter is less than a week away – time sure does hop! (groans from the audience)

What are you having for dinner this Easter Sunday? Does your family have any yummy traditions or recipes? Please share! (And take a look at people’s menus already posted… some yummy ideas there already)

Just a couple quick resources for you. Emily (last week’s guest blogger) sent me this great link, matthewmeadstyle.com. He has tons of cute Easter ideas and free downloads to implement them. And of course, Martha Stewart has a plethora of recipes that look very Easter-y. I know, not very original, but hey…she’s good. What can I say?

By the way, if you want to do a traditional ham the easy (and less expensive than “Honey Baked”) way, Costco has good hams that come with a glaze. Watch it, though – we cooked it LESS than the time on the label last year and it was too long… got a little dry. But that was our fault.

Here’s my menu, at least for now… may change before Sunday!
– Ham & Potato Bake
– Carrot Vichyssoise
– Asparagus (looking for a “fancy” recipe, but may just simply sautée)
– Spinach salad with grapefruit and Brianna’s Blush Wine Vinaigrette
– Rhodes frozen dinner rolls (if your grocer carries these, buy them, they are AWESOME – seriously as good as homemade)
– Chocolate Bread Pudding

So, if you know me at all you know it is pretty amazing that I have stuck with this blog for 10 weeks… little did I know when I started that I would love doing it so much! It’s really improved my overall cooking experience (and, therefore, life in general) and I hope it’s helped some of you as well! I’m going to just keep plugging away and hopefully you won’t get sick of me. Please keep visiting, sharing the site with friends and sharing your great menus. And if you haven’t posted yet – please do! All menus welcome – simple, complex, easy, gourmet, yummy, yucky, whatever!

I’ve been swamped with work lately. It was getting to be a drag and a bit stressful. Then I read this post on Anna Maria Horner’s blog – I stopped and took notice. I mean, what could be better than this “office” that I’ve got? I get to be home with my daughter and work when I want to in the comfort of my home, a place where I love being. Moral of the story: be grateful for the simple and beautiful things in your life.

Song of the Week: “Crooked Teeth” by Death Cab for Cutie. I really like a lot of their other songs, but this is an especially good “kitchen soundtrack” type of song. 🙂

Happy Anniversary!

MONDAY:
– Oriental Chicken Salad
– Chicken Shu Mai (Trader Joe’s, freezer section)

TUESDAY:
– Chicken Tenders (Tyson Crispy Chicken Strips)
– Baked French Fries
– Spinach salad

WEDNESDAY:
– Hawaiian Pizza
– Salad

THURSDAY:
– Leftover night

FRIDAY:
– Chili Chicken Skewers
– Rice with Cilantro Pesto
– Asparagus or Chunky Banana Sweet Potato Mash

SATURDAY:
– Eat out

SUNDAY:
– Come back tomorrow for the Easter plan!