Monday, October 28, 2013

Menu Plan Monday - Week of 10/28/13



Happy Halloween week! We are not huge fans of Halloween around here, but I do loved making themed meals! E. will be trick or treating for the first time. Can't wait :D He also has two parties to go this week. yes, my 2.5 year old has more of a social life than me LOL!! Hope you all have a safe and happy Halloween!


Monday: Ranchy Crock Pot Chicken (from last week)

Tuesday: leftovers

 Wednesday: Halloween party at J's school, so dinner will be from the freezer.

Thursday: Ghost of Monte Cristo Sandwiches, Pumpkin Crumble (from Our Best Bites Cookbook)

Friday:  Cheesy Chicken Pot Pie

Saturday and Sunday: Saturday we are going to a brand new Smashburger!!! I am sooooo excited, and I will have a review up for you guys next week!

Dessert of the Week: Pumpkin Crumble and leftover Halloween candy ;)

Find more recipes at orgjunkie.com!



Monday, October 21, 2013

Menu Plan Monday - Week of 10/21/13




 I am so glad that I chose to make last week a light week, since we all came down with bad colds! it has been so hard to function, and here it is, 2 p.m. when I am writing this, and I can't stop yawning!! This week and next Jeff is working late (his play is Nov 7 and 8!) and it is supposed to get cooler, so I am thinking more crock pot and stew recipes are on the way. Also as we get closer to Halloween the craziness of the season goes into full swing!


Monday: BBQ Chicken Stuffed Potatoes, using shredded chicken from the freezer

Tuesday: Slow Cooker Macaroni and Cheese

 Wednesday: leftovers

Thursday: Halloween Party (see Dessert of the Week!)

Friday:  Dinner out

Saturday and Sunday: Ranchy Crock Pot Chicken (and leftovers on Sunday)

Dessert of the Week: Bringing something to the Halloween party... either Fudge Candy Corn or Simple Slice and bake Candy Corn Cookies or maybe some candy corn cake balls. So hard to decide!!!

Find more recipes at orgjunkie.com!



Monday, October 14, 2013

Menu Plan Monday - Week of 10/14/13


We just came back from a birthday party, so I am STUFFED and not really into thinking about food right now! I think this is going to be a pretty light week, cooking-wise. Starting to get into using up the leftovers in the freezer mode.

Monday: leftovers

Tuesday: Easiest Ravioli Bake

 Wednesday: BBQ chicken pizza

Thursday: leftovers

Friday:  We are going to a wedding!!! yay!!

Saturday and Sunday: something from the freezer


Dessert of the Week: Pumpkin Spice Donut Muffins - pumpkin is on sale this week!

More menus at OrgJunkie's Menu Plan Monday!



Wednesday, October 9, 2013

Radical Review Wednesday: Smoogy Frozen Cheesecake Cookie Sandwich

The Smoogy in Original Lemon

My husband and I are suckers for just about any food competition program on TV. So when we heard about Supermarket Superstar - where home cooks competed to get their product onto supermarket store shelves - we had to watch! It was a pretty good show, and the winner was the Smoogy, an ice cream sandwich made with a flavored cheesecake filling instead of ice cream.

When I saw it in this week's Waldbaum's ad, I knew we had to try it!


Smoogy is a good size with a lot of filling

The first thing I noticed was the size. I thought it was comparable to to other ice cream sandwiches. It also had a lot of filling. I also noticed that the filling was off  center, with a lot more on one side than the other. They are individually wrapped in the plastic you can see in the picture above.

A bite of Smoogy-ness

The is a definite cheesecake taste, with a good lemon aftertaste. However, they also taste a little bit chemically. The cookie is the best part -  a good size that tastes like a spice cookie. I did find the Smoogy difficult to eat, though, because where the cookie touches the cheesecake filling, it hardens, thus making it difficult to bite then chew tthe cookie. The edges stay nice and soft. I have not had that problem with other ice cream sandwiches.

Smoogy nutrition info
Looking at the nutrition facts, Smoogy is slightly worse than the tubs of ice cream I had in my freezer - however, ice cream's serving size is 1/2 cup, and I know that I have more than that at one time! So it seems more of less like a wash to me. But, $3.99 (on sale) for three servings makes these expensive, and I just don't think the taste justifies the price. I would not buy these again.

If you want more information, there is a Web site - smoogycookie.com/ but that doesn't really have too much info on it!



Monday, October 7, 2013

Menu Plan Monday - Week of 10/7/13


Another uninspired week, I blame the overcast skies! By the end of the week, it will HOPEFULLY be cold enough to make some soup. I am so tried of wearing shorts in October!!!

Monday: grocery shopping day, so something from the freezer (again!)

Tuesday: Italian Chicken Roll ups

 Wednesday:  chicken pot pie cupcakes - by request of the kiddo!

Thursday:  leftovers

Friday:  slow cooker potato and corn chowder

Saturday and Sunday: leftovers, and a birthday party on Sunday!

Dessert of the Week: Pumpkin Spice Donut Muffins - if pumpkin is on sale!

More menus at OrgJunkie's Menu Plan Monday!



Friday, October 4, 2013

The Long Island Fair 2013

I grew up near an AWESOME county fair. It had rides, big name acts, animals, tons of displays, crafts, fun fair food. It was the best. So I was a bit sad when I moved to Long Island, where this no fair. But much to my surprise, I found out last year that they DO have their own little fair! It is not really the same as a real county fair, but it is still really cool!

Here are some pictures from this year!

There are pumpkins and apples for sale

Agriculture displays

Big John Deere display

This is where the food, crafts and other home type items were displayed
Carrousel for the kiddies

Petting zoo for the kids - moments after I took this photo, this goat licked that little girl!
petting bunnies

Teddy Roosevelt and his Rough Riders are on hand!

Old timey band



literal pig sty!
 There is alot of stuff to do that i did not get a picture of! The fair is held at the Old Bethpage Restoration at the nd of September. Here is the info from this year's fair:

Hours: Friday, September 20 and 27 - 10:00 - 4:00 Saturday and Sunday, September 21, 22, 28 and 29 - 10:00 - 5:00
 Admission Prices: DOLLAR DAYS ARE BACK - Saturday 9/21 and Sunday Sunday 9/29. $1.00 for everybody. Otherwise: Adults - $12.00 Children (5-12) and Seniors (over 60) - $8.00 Children (under 5) - free

form ore information, visit lifair.org

 

Monday, September 30, 2013

Menu Plan Monday - Week of 9/29/13


Last week we had a fail and a success! I decided against the BBQ Stove top chicken and just cooked it regularly... such a fail. Took forever, the breading burned, the house smelled like oil for the days. That never works right!

But the pizza dough! Fabulous! It was a cinch to make and tasted really good. Next time I will triple the recipe and freeze the rest. I will also add some seasoning to the crust.

Here is to a good week! Happy October! (where the high will be 83 on Wednesday!)


Monday: grocery shopping day, so something from the freezer

Tuesday: Trying a Campbell's slow cooker sauce

 Wednesday:  leftovers

Thursday:  Chicken Parmesean Casserole (WW friendly)

Friday:  leftovers

Saturday and Sunday: Breakfast for dinner!


More menus at OrgJunkie's Menu Plan Monday!



Thursday, September 26, 2013

How My Summer Went Up in Flames by Jennifer Salvato Doktorski

How My Summer Went Up in FlamesHow My Summer Went Up in Flames by Jennifer Salvato Doktorski
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

This book was not what I expected. I thought it would be like the typical fun, YA beach read.... Boy cheats on girl, girl (accidentally) blows up his car, get a temporary restraining order, girl gets forced to go on a road trip to help her get over boy then she (of course!) falls in love with one of the guys she is road tripping with. But it really was more than that, and Dokorski slowly lets Rosie discover who she is and who she wants to be. I loved seeing Rosie change, influenced by the boys she is with as well as the adventures they go on. I felt like all of the characters were written in a realistic way and behaved they way they do for believable reasons. Though I do think that she fell for the wrong guy lol!!

I won this book from a Goodreads giveaway.

View all my reviews



Monday, September 23, 2013

Menu Plan Monday - Week of 9/23/13




Happy fall!!!! Love it :D Our schedules are ramping up... Jeff starts drama club rehearsals, and this weekend is the consignment sale... hoping that I make more than I will end up spending lol So it is a low cooking week for me. Yay!

Monday: Stove Top BBQ Chicken served over rice (for realz this week!)

Tuesday: Taco Stroganoff

 Wednesday:  leftovers

Thursday: something from the freezer

Friday:  something from the freezer

Saturday and Sunday: Homemade Pizza (gonna try it in my new Bosch!)

Dessert of the Week: I made cookies on Saturday!

More menus at OrgJunkie's Menu Plan Monday!



Thursday, September 19, 2013

Quick Way to Organize Dresser Drawers for the "In Between" Season

This summer, my 2 year old's shorts were out of control! The drawer they were in was just a mess, and since he has so many patterned shorts, I was wasting time trying to match shirts with shorts.

Enter baskets from the dollar store! For $2 plus tax, I was able to easily find the shorts I wanted at a glance! I used the rest of the space in the drawer for his shortalls and matching outfits.

shorts all nice and neat - thank you dollar store!

But here comes the bonus - we are now in the "in between" season, where summer and fall collide, meaning some days it is 65 and pants weather while some days (like tomorrow!) the high is 80, and it is definite shorts weather. For the first time, all of his shorts are secure in one place, so I can easily figure out what are his pants and what are his shorts!

shorts and pants, separated by cheap baskets
Now to organize his shirt drawer... it is a million times worse! :0