Happy 4th of July!

Happy Independence Day to all of my American readers! I hope everyone has a fabulous day filled with family, friends, laughter and good food - no matter where you live! We will be having Jeff's parents over for an indoor BBQ! :D

Menu Plan Monday - Week of 7/2/12

Welcome to July!! It is always a lean month for us, spreading out J.'s last yearly check through the summer and waiting  for the first summer school check to arrive! A good excuse to be creative and use up what we already have.This week's dishes will make leftovers to freeze - which is good because I need to refill!

Monday: Jeff requested spaghetti, so I am going to make Pizza di Spaghetti
Tuesday:  leftovers
Wednesday:  Whee, Happy 4th of July!!! Our indoor BBQ menu: Griddled barbecue chicken breast, hot dogs, corn on the cob, pasta salad (via MIL) and fruit salad (via MIL). Dessert - Jeff is making whoopie pies (mix from Harry and David), and I am making red, white and blue cupcakes (with star shaped marshmallows instead of candies)
Thursday:  BBQ leftovers!!!
Friday:  Crockpot Applesauce Chicken (from a previous week, didn't make it)


For more menus, visit orgjunkie.com

And Then There Were None by Agatha Christie Review - Cozy Mystery Challenge

Summary: Considered the best mystery novel ever written by many readers, And Then There Were None is the story of 10 strangers, each lured to Indian Island by a mysterious host. Once his guests have arrived, the host accuses each person of murder. Unable to leave the island, the guests begin to share their darkest secrets--until they begin to die. (from Amazon)

My Thoughts: I had never read an Agatha Christie book before this one. I know, I know! I am not even sure why, other than that I prefer my mysteries set in the U.S. And based on this book, I would read another Christie book, but they wouldn't be my first choice.

And then There were None starts out at a frenetic pace, which carries on throughout the book, We are introduced to the 10 strangers on their way to the island - most arriving via train. Being introduced to 10 characters in 16 pages makes it a little hard to keep them straight! One they get to the island. people start dropping like flies, and it makes a good mystery trying to find out who is the killer and what the motive might be. I liked the ending of the book itself - and that can make or break a book for me. But Christie added an epilogue that ruined the ending for me. BUT then she added a postscript of sorts that totally saved the ending.

I would give it 4 out of 5 stars. The writing is excellent, and the concept is pretty amazing, but it was hard to keep the characters straight.

Menu Plan Monday - Week of 6/25/12

HAPPY SUMMER! And happy new MPM banner for summer :) This is a no grocery store week, but we are still going to eat some yummy food!!

Monday: leftover Slow Cooker Chicken Cordon Bleu (I used breadcrumbs instead of stuffing.... sooooo good1!!)
Tuesday:  Italian Chicken
Wednesday:  I have a later dentist appt, so J. is on his own.
Thursday: Slow cooker mac and cheese, either this recipe or this recipe or one from Not Your Mother's Slow Cooker Cookbook. Hopefully I can get Jeff to review whatever recipe I use.
Friday: leftover mac and cheese.

 I usually do not cook on the weekends, but I have some frozen cooked chicken, so I think we will do quesedillas on Saturday night.

Dessert this week... Something pumpkin, I think, with cinnamon cool whip. I will have to find one that is not a dip or pie. If you know of any, please LMK!


For more menus, visit orgjunkie.com

Menu Plan Monday - Week of 6/18/12

This week: i do not want to cook!!! So it is an uninspiring week. And I ma trying to save msot of my grocery budget for next week. And it is supposed to be in the 90s a few days this week. yuuuuuck!! But we are excited to set up the water table we bought E - he looooved playing in the water on Father's Day, so I can't wait to set him up! This is Jeff's last week of work for a few weeks, so next week should feature some more cooking?

Monday: frozens :(
Tuesday:  leftovers :(
Wednesday:  pasta salad
Thursday: Slow Cooker Chicken Cordon Bleu
Friday: leftovers

Dessert this week... We still have cookies from Father's Day, so we will be eating those!

Also, I will be making breadcrumbs this week! I have never done it before, so I am excited :D

For more menus, visit orgjunkie.com

Walking, Walking, Walking!!!

Just a quick note that we have a walker!! While he still does so some crawling, as long as he starts standing and doesn't fall, my "baby" is WALKING! All over the living room, the kitchen, the bedroom... I can't believe it. I don't have video uploaded yet, but here are a few pics of him since it has been so long!

playground time!

cannot stand his cuteness!!

blurry like most of the pictures I take of this boy who never stops moving!

meeting Minnie mouse in Disneyland!

Menu Plan Monday - Week of 6/11/12

Well, at least I am consistent with doing MPM! Hopefully I will get back in the swing of things once Jeff gets out of school. As it is, making it day to day is enough for me!

Monday: leftovers
Tuesday: Philly Cream Cheese Chicken Tetrazzini
Wednesday: probably dinner out
Thursday:  Dinner out at the Melting Pot <3
Friday: Weight Watchers Italian Chicken


Saturday:  leftovers
Sunday:  making Mini Caramel Rolls as a Father's Day treat for Jeff. Lunch will be at his aunt's house, so we won't be hungry for dinner! I will be making Triple Threat Chocolate Fudge Peanut Butter Cookies

For more information or to join the hop, go to I'm an Organizing Junkie.

Menu Plan Monday - Week of 6/4/12

Well it has been a week of limited Internet access for me along with a touch of sickness and general exhaustion so, as you can see, my blog fell by the wayside last week. I am hoping to catch up this week, but as usual I am not holding my breath LOL! Hopefully meal planning will be a good starting point!

Monday: Crock Pot Chicken Applesauce
Tuesday:  hamburgers using Kraft Fresh Take
Wednesday: Jeff is working at night so we are having leftovers.
Thursday: We are going to a free screening of Brave! So dinner will be leftovers.
Friday: Boneless Chicken Caccaitore

Dessert this week... Banana Cream Pie from Skinny Taste... WW friendly, yay!

For more menus, visit orgjunkie.com

Menu Plan - Week of 5/21/12

One of the worst things about coming home from vacation is not having any food in the house! I have been trying the past few weeks to make meals mostly out of what we already had... and now I am in desperate need of some meat! To the grocery store today, and to try to not spend over my budgeted amount!

Here is the week's shortened meal plan:
Tuesday:  Easy Skillet Cordon Bleu
Wednesday: Cream Cheese Pasta
Thursday: Jeff is going to a show with his parents, so E. and I are ordering in Chinese
Friday: pasta salad

The weekend will be leftovers! Not sure if I am doing a dessert this week, maybe just cupcakes from a mix! I do want to make something for Memorial Day... any ideas?

For more menus, visit orgjunkie.com

Well Hi There!

So apparently Google decided that it detected unusual activity on my account and deactivated my blog. Did it bother to tell me? Oh, no, why would it do that?? Nice to come back from vacation and have a minor heart attack.

Yes, I am back from Disneyland! The vacation was all right, not relaxing, unfortunately, but when can you relax when you have a 13 month old? lol It was good to be in Disneyland, but I barely got to see any of my friends, which is the important part. Oh well, it is what it was. Here are a few pics from my phone.

First ride: Peter Pan

Water on the train

In his element: meet at the hub