Plan Your Dinners Ahead of Time and Save Money!

Do you go to the grocery store and spend more money than you had originally intended to spend? Do you give yourself a grocery budget and by the time you walk out of the store you have exceded it? Do you make a list of what you need but then buy ten other items that looks appealing?

This is a great trick that I picked up from my mom. I am sure that many others use this method but I have to share it with you because I find it extremely useful. I used to go to the grocery store every week and walk out of the store feeling ashamed of all the useless items that I really did not need. I would, even at times, avoid telling my husband how much I spent because it was rediculous. Finally, I decided that I needed to take my mother's advice and create a menu for the week. This has really helped keep my grocery budget in check and I am even in and out of the store a lot quicker.

Here is what you should do...
Make a list of the days of the week. I start on Sunday and end on Saturday. (This is because I usually go to the store on Saturday mornings). On each day I write down the main course and whatever sides we will be having. This way, I know exactly what ingredients I will need for each meal. I then write down on my grocery list all of the items that I do not already have in the house. I even go into further detail by grouping items in my list as to where I will find them in the store. This may sound silly but I really do not like being at the grocery store for very long and this saves me A LOT of time. When I am done, I stick mine right on the fridge so that I can see what to plan for the next day.

Try this trick and let me know what you think!

• Sunday             Braised Pot Roast & Salt Potatoes
• Monday            Portabella Mushroom Burgers & Sweet Potato Fries
• Tuesday           Breakfast Night
• Wednesday      Salmon Cakes (Yogurt Dipping Sauce) & Soy Green Beans      
• Thursday         Lasagna & Salad
• Friday              Take-out Night
• Saturday          Smoked Pork Shoulder, Cole Slaw, Corn Casserole

No Meat Night! PORTABELLA MUSHROOM SAMMIES WITH SWEET POTATO FRIES

Ok, so it seems my blog has become mostly about food....that is not my intention. However, I just could not pass up sharing this recipe. It is easy. It is healthy. It is yummy....and it is for any veggie lovers out there. We are definitely a meat and potatoes family but portabella mushrooms are so meaty that they really fill you up like any other protein. Try this one! It will not disappoint!

Marinate the mushroom caps in Balsamic Vinaigrette for 15 minutes. (I use Newman's Own Organic Light Balsamic)

During this time I roast a red pepper over an open flame on the stove (medium high) until charred on all sides. Immediately place into a glass bowl and seal tightly with press and seal or whatever you may have, about 10 minutes. (You can also place in a brown paper bag and tightly roll up the top). Remove the red pepper and peel away the skin. **For those of you who prefer a simpler method, you can buy roasted red peppers in the grocery store.

Remove the mushrooms from the marinade (keep marinade to baste while cooking) and put onto a preheated grill pan with a spray of PAM so the mushrooms do not stick. Grill for 5-8 minutes on each side. Top with cheese of your choice (mozzerella or provolone for me).

Top with avacado and roasted red peppers on a warm toasted bun!!




*Sweet Potato Fries*

Preheat oven to 375.

Peel and slice the sweet potatoes into thin strips, about the size of a thick french fry. Toss with olive oil, salt, pepper, and smoked paprika. Place in oven and cook for about 15-20 minutes (until they start to brown on one side). At this time I like to take them out and turn them over to carmalize the other side. Cook another 10-15 minutes.

Dark Chocolate Covered Strawberries with Cinnamon

Because dinner tonight was a bit on the heavier side, I like to even it out with a simple and lighter dessert. Because for me, dessert is a must...every night. Here is a little twist on a classic recipe that I find delightful!

Ingredients

Strawberries
Nestle Toll House Natural Dark Chocolate
Cinnamon

Take a double broiler and melt 1 4 oz bar of the dark chocolate. When melted, add 1/2 tsp of cinnamon and stir. Take off of heat and dip strawberries. Refridgerate and enjoy :)

It's Comfort Food Night! BRAISED POT ROAST WITH SALTED POTATOES

It is always nice to have those yummy comfort food dinners. Tonight I am making my own recipe of braised pot roast with salted potatoes on the side. This is a more time consuming meal (and no, this is not a crock pot dinner). But it is so good, rich, and filling. Perfect for a cold night!




Ingredients

3 slices of thick bacon, large dice
1 1/2 medium to large onions, sliced
3 carrots, peeled and large chop
12 ounces of a dark beer (I am using Guinness)
large Tbl of whole wheat flour
salt and pepper
1 Tbl of dried thyme
1 tsp of dried oregano
1 tsp of dried rosemary
beef stock
1 Tbl of vegetable oil
2 lbs of Chuck Pot Roast (Boneless), cut into large cubes,
(I also like to trim some of the fat if there is a lot)

Grab your dutch oven and preheat that oven to 325 degrees!

Cook the bacon until almost fully cooked. Once they are done, remove and drop onto a plate with a paper towel to remove some of the fat. Add the onions to the pot with salt and pepper. Cook the onions over a low heat to caramelize them. This is going to take awhile (about 30 minutes).

When the onions are done (finally), remove them and add the vegetable oil to the dutch oven. Season the meat with salt and pepper and sear in batches. Place each batch to the side.

When all of the meat is seared, add them back to the pot and top them with the onions and the carrots. Add the flour, stir, and cook for about 1 minute. Finally, add in the remaining ingredients (the beer, dried seasonings, and stock. (Use as much stock as it takes to just about cover the ingredients in the pot.)

Cover the dutch oven and stick in the oven for 2 hours or until the meat is tender. Plate and enjoy!


*Salted Potatoes*

Boil red potatoes (whole) until fork tender. Drain the water. Add about 1 Tbl (or as much as you like) to gently coat the potatoes and top with salt.

Coming to Terms...

I have recently come to terms with the fact that my four year old has started to become an actual young lady. I know, this seems weird because she is four years old but if you knew my daughter you would think the same thing. I am currently transitioning her "little girl room" into a "big girl room." All of a sudden she is more interested in dress up, makeup, baking with her mommy, and talking about boys. Yes, boys! She has already had her first boyfriend. I wish you could have seen the reaction on Chris's face (and mine) when she said this. BOYS WATCH OUT! Chris is not a force to be reckoned with. LOL. Is this what I have to look forward to in the future? Because if this is starting this early than I am going to be in trouble!



Even though it is so exciting to watch my daughter evolve into this little person, it is so very scarey to see that my little girl is not so little anymore. It is even more frightening to me to see how quickly my almost six month old son is growing. It is so hard to enjoy this time when it flies by and you can't remember yesterday. I think that this is all bothering me as much as it is because we are done with having children. (Our next venture in life will be dogs.) I know that a lot of other moms know exactly what I am talking about and understand the feelings. And for those who have yet to have children, enjoy every minute because it truly does go by fast.

Fish Piccata

On tonight's menu I am making fish piccata with tilapia. I use chicken a lot when I cook so it is nice to change it up a bit. Tilapia is such a nice light fish to use for this recipe and absorbs all of the flavors perfectly.

Ingredients

1 lb fish fillets (I use tilapia as I mentioned)
salt and pepper
Extra virgin olive oil
whole wheat, unbleached flour -to dredge
     (I add about 1/2 Tbl of dried thyme because it is a lemony herb and about a 1/4 garlic powder to the flour to give it extra flavor for the fish)
1 1/2-2 lemons juiced (depending on the size)
1/4 cup dry white wine (Chardonnay)
2 Tbl capers
2 Tbl butter
Parsley for garnish

Serve with angel hair pasta (I use Barilla Plus multigrain pasta).

Because the fish does not take long to cook, start boiling a large pot of salted water for the pasta.

Heat the extra virgin olive oil in a large saute pan. Lighty dredge the fish in the flour mixture and shake off any extra flour. Saute the fish until brown on both sides or until cooked through. When the fish is done, remove the fish and place on a seperate plate. Deglaze the pan with the wine and then add the lemon juice and capers. Finally, add the butter and stir the sauce together.

*If the sauce seems too lemony, add 1 more Tbl of butter or olive oil to mellow it out of a bit.

To plate, pour sauce over the fish (and pasta if you want) and top with parsely. YUMMO!

TURKEY LETTUCE WRAPS

Tonight for dinner I am making my own recipe of turkey lettuce wraps. My family loves these, even my four year old, and I hope that you try them and enjoy them too! This is a great way to eat lettuce wraps without all of the extra calories, fat, and sodium!

Sauce

3 1/2 Tbl of Reduced Sodium Soy Sauce
2 1/2 Tbl of Rice Wine Vinegar
1 Tbl Organic Blue Agave Nectar
3/4 Tbl Sriracha Hot Chili Sauce
1/2 tsp Sesame Oil

Filling

1 lb Extra Lean Ground White Turkey Meat
about 6-8 oz of white button mushrooms, diced
2 lrg scallions, chopped
2 large garlic cloves, minced
about 3/4 of an 8oz can of water chestnuts, chopped

1/4 cup Reduced Sodium Soy Sauce
1 Tbl brown sugar
1 Tbl Rice Wine Vinegar
1 Tbl Natural JIF Creamy Peanut Butter
1 Tbl ginger, microplaned

Brown the meat with a little bit of extra virgin olive oil until no longer pink. Add the mushrooms, scallions, garlic, and water chestnuts and cook until the mushrooms soften and start to release their juices. Mix the soy sauce, vinegar, peanut butter, and ginger in a seperate bowl and pour over filling. Cook for about a minute and turn off the heat.

Serve the turkey mixture with your choice of lettuce (Bib or Iceberg) and top with shredded carrots and sauce.

What to do on those snowy days....

I am definitely a spring/summer kind of person. I love being outside in the fresh warm air and watching the kids play with infinite numbers of activities. However, having grown up in Wisconsin and now currently living in New York, those days are usually numbered when the end of fall settles in and winter brings that bitter cold and snow. And no, I am not a snow person. So my question is, what do I do with my 4 year old daughter during those snowy days when I do not enjoy being outside? Well first of all, I send my daughter out to play in the front yard in her full winter gear. However, this does not last very long because she enjoys eating the snow more than she enjoys playing in it. Then there comes the inevitable "I'm bored." And being her mother, it is my duty to entertain her as much as I can. This can be difficult when a baby is also involved so I try to do something that involves all of us. One of my favorite activities is to sit and make a big bowl of popcorn and watch a good ol' classic Disney movie. This works out because my daughter is a Disney Princess fanatic. We also like to color together. Unfortunately I have had to throw away all of her markers because she does not believe in recapping them :/ Thank God for crayons! However, for Christmas my daughter got some Wii games that are great for kids. We play Disney Sing It:Family Hits, Just Dance Kids 2, and Nickelodeon Fit for Kids. These are all great interactive games that are fun for all of us. My daughter and I really enjoy doing things like this together. I am on the lookout for new and fun activities so if anyone has any ideas please send them my way!

Welcome!

       Welcome to my blog! My name is Briana and I am 29 years old. I have decided to start a blog to share my days of being a stay-at-home mom of two (a four year old daughter and an almost six month old son). Our family currently resides in West Point, New York where my loving husband spends his days working for the Warrior Transition Unit. I must say that I enjoy the life of an Army wife. I get to travel to new places and meet so many wonderful new friends. However, it is hard to be away from friends and family back home. During my days I do the usual stay-at-home mom things: clean, chase the kids around, clean some more...and one of my passions...cooking. This blog will be a lot about cooking. I love to take recipes and healthify them. However, I also love to indulge in those not-so-good for you meals too. Besides my job as a full-time mom and wife (insert cheesy smile) I am also a student. I go to school through University of Phoenix and I am about to graduate (in 17 weeks and counting) with my Bachelors in Human Services Management. This is a long time coming and I am excited to get another degree under my belt for when I decide to make that big leap into the big corporate...or non-corporate world.
       Anyway, welcome again, if there are any of you out there. I hope that you enjoy reading my posts and that I have something to offer to each and every one of you.