Menu Plan Monday - Week of 1/14/13

Monday:   whatever you can grab... Dentist for me :(

Tuesday:  Omaha Steaks Hot Dogs and Taco Potatoes

Wednesday:  Scooter's Spaghetti

Thursday:  Pepperoni Cheese Stick Rollups

Friday:  leftovers

I try not to cook on the weekends, so Saturday and Sunday are leftovers or frozen meals!

Dessert of the Week:  Yogurt Chocolate Chip Cookies They won't last the week, though, so I am not sure what else I will make!

Find more menus at Org Junkie

Yogurt Chocolate Chip Cookies

Yogurt Chocolate Chip Cookies... gooey chocolate chips!

The other day I received a belated Christmas gift from my mom - a cookie dough scoop! I knew she was sending it, but had forgotten, so when I saw it in the midst of gifts for E, I knew I had to make cookies ASAP. Only having one egg yet having way too much yogurt, I knew exactly what kind of cookies to make! These are super soft, and the chips stay gooey. The only change I would make next time was to add a little cinnamon - they are a tiny bit bland.

little circles of yumminess!

Chocolate Chip Yogurt Cookies 

based on the recipe by Shannon's Kitchen Creations

• 1 and 3/4 cup all-purpose flour 
• 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
• 1/2 teaspoon salt 
•  3/4 cup brown sugar, packed
• 1/2 cup butter
• 1/2 cup plain nonfat yogurt (Greek or regular)
• 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
• 1 cup semisweet chocolate chips

Makes 36 small cookies

Directions

1. Preheat the oven to 375 degrees F (190 degrees C). Grease cookie sheets (or use parchment or silpat.)
2. Combine the flour, baking soda, and salt and set aside. In a medium bowl, cream together the brown sugar and butter until light and fluffy. Stir in yogurt and vanilla. Stir the flour mixture into the creamed mixture until incorporated, then mix in chocolate chips. Drop by rounded tablespoons, 2 inches apart onto the prepared cookie sheets.
3. Bake for 8 to 10 minutes in the preheated oven, until the edges begin to brown. Cool for a minute on the cookie tray before removing.

round dough! love my cookie dough scoop!

Ibotta - Earn Easy Cash while Grocery Shopping

Seriously, do you want to make an easy $5 while you are shopping for groceries you already buy? The Ibotta app is crazy easy to use. The basics: Choose what products to buy, do a few small tasks that are worth at least .25 (like taking a poll or answering a trivia question), choose where to shop (they have tons of stores), buy the products, upload a picture of your receipt and boom! The money you have earned gets transferred into your Paypal account.

And until Friday, if you sign up under me (just click this link) you get an additional $5 the first time you upload a receipt! So far, I have done two shopping trips, bought 3 products from the app and gotten back $2.50... real cash, so easy.

Menu Plan Monday - Week of 1/7/13

Yesterday, we went to my in law's for Jeff's grandma's birthday. It was a lot of fun, but getting home so late just makes me want to relax instead of meal planning!! So today's menu is a little late!



Monday:   whatever you can grab... J is working late.

Tuesday:  Taco Pasta (didn't get to make it last week!)

Wednesday: Skillet Pork Chops with Potatoes and Onion

Thursday:  leftovers

Friday:  Creamy Chicken Enchiladas


I try not to cook on the weekends, so Saturday and Sunday are leftovers!

Dessert of the Week: I made Cinnamon Caramel Swirl Bars for the party, but they weren't cool enough to bring, so we have plenty! .. .stay tuned for my blog post about it!!


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

Peanut Butter Banana Muffins

peanut butter banana muffins

Last week, we bought bananas as BJs like we usually do. E. is insane for bananas. I think that is all he would eat if I let him!! However, these bananas went bad fairly quickly. We didn't do anything differently, so I am not sure what happened. But I DO know that it gave me the perfect excuse to bake! I made banana bread, then wanted something a little different, so I found Gina's recipe for low fat peanut butter banana muffins (peanut butter being E's second favorite food!). I only had regular peanut butter so these are not low fat - but they are really good!


Peanut Butter Banana Muffins
from Gina's Weight Watcher Recipes
Ingredients:

• 3 ripe medium bananas *I used 2*
• 1/3 cup unsweetened apple sauce
• 1 1/4 cups unbleached all purpose flour
• 3/4 tsp baking soda
• 1/4 tsp salt
• 2 tbsp butter, softened
• 1/3 cup light brown sugar
• 2 large egg whites
• 1/2 tsp vanilla extract
• 10 tbsp Better'n peanut butter (divided into 8 tablespoons and 2 tablespoons) *I used regular creamy*

Directions:

Preheat oven to 325°. Line a muffin tin with 12 liners.
Mash bananas in a bowl, set aside.

In a medium bowl, combine flour, baking soda and salt with a wire whisk. Set aside.

In a large bowl cream butter and sugar with an electric mixer. Add egg whites, bananas, apple sauce, vanilla, and 8 tablespoons peanut butter, and beat at medium speed until thick. Scrape down sides of the bowl.

Add flour mixture, then blend at low speed until combined. Do not over mix.

Pour batter into muffin tin halfway, then add 1/2 teaspoon of the remaining  peanut butter into each muffin well. Top off each muffin with remaining batter,making sure to blend the batter already in the cup with the after you jut put in.* Bake on the center rack for 25 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean.

* I just topped the muffins with the extra batter, and it was like they were topped with the extra batter NOT like they were  a muffin with peanut butter inside*

this is what happens when you try to photograph a todder's breakfast...

 

Recipe Roundup and Index!

While I am not (and will never be!) a food blogger, I do like to post recipes - if only to help me remember what recipes we liked to eat! And if you are a regular reader of my blog, you will know that I usually have some sort of issues with what I make (one reason why I will never be a food blogger!) and usually end up substituting ingredients, so if you are looking for a real person with real opinions on what she makes, this is the page to go to! Plus, most of these recipes are really easy to make.

Appetizers and Side Dishes:

Homemade Crackers
Oven Fries


Breakfast:

Cinnamon Chocolate Chip Muffins

Main Dishes:

 Baked Chicken Culets
Cheezy Ritzy Chicken
Crock Pot Chicken Cacciatore
Easy Cheeseburger Pasta
Easy Lasagne Skillet
Ground Turkey with Potatoes and Peas
Skillet Mac and Cheese
Three Cheese Spaghetti Bake



Desserts:

Butterscotch Blondies
Chocolate Chip Cookie Brownies
Cream Cheese Chocolate Chip Cookies
Double Chocolate Toffee Cookies
Eggless Peanut Butter Cookies with White Chocolate Chips
Lemon Coolers
Oreo Caramel Brownies 
Oreo Cheesecake
Oreo Truffles
Peanut Butter Smores Bars
Pumpkin Chip Cream Pie
Red White and Blue Cupcakes
Rice Krispies Cookies
Quick and Easy Candy


(this roundup was inspired by Org Junkie! This post has tons more recipe indexes!
and eventually I will pretty up this page and add pics!)
(OK I figured out how to make this a page, so while this post won't get updated, the link at the top of my blog will!)

Menu Plan Monday - Week of 12/31/12

Well, hello there! December just got away from me! The toddler has been waking up 3 to 5 nights a week screaming like he's being tortured :( So exhaustion has reined around here with not much getting done. And the candies and cookies I made for Christmas all failed, so I didn't want to post about them! However, January is right around the  corner, and with it comes resolutions. We are setting up a play area in the basement, and I am planning on getting some blogging done while the toddler is playing. I still have reviews that are overdue :( I also want to blog more about him - he certainly cracks us up these days!

But step 1 is to get back to menu planning!!


So here is this week's menu:


 Monday: NYE appetizer fest: pizza quesedillas, pretzel bites, hot corn and cheese dip

Tuesday: corn chowder from the freezer


Wednesday: Cheesy Chicken and Stuffing

Thursday:  leftovers

Friday: Taco Pasta

Saturday is leftovers and Sunday we are celebrating DH's grandma's birthday!

Dessert of the Week: I made chocolate chip banana bread and peanut butter banana muffins today, plus we still have stuff from Christmas!! I will make something for Sunday, but I am not sure what yet.

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

Menu Plan Monday - Week of 12/3/12

Wow, life really falls apart when you don't plan your menus! It has been a struggle to catch up with life since the hurricane, and to budget in all of the extra money we were not expecting to spend, along with Christmas gifts! But with the craziness of Christmas coming, I know that having a menu plan set will help keep things under control!!

I hope everyone had a good Thanksgiving! My parents came out, then we all went up to my brother and sister-in-law's for a few days. It was such a great time, and we even went Black Friday shopping! Love it.

It is also the week of Jeff's play, so he will be home whenever he is home lol  So this week will be easy to throw together at the last minute meals and crock pot meals that can sit for awhile.

Here is this week's menu:

Monday: quick burritos (just rice, cooked chicken, cheese and sour cream heated up and rolled in tortillas)


Tuesday: Crock Pot Honey Garlic Chicken


Wednesday: leftovers

Thursday:  Slow Cooker Corn Chowder

Friday:  Pizza night!

I try not to cook on weekends, so Saturday and Sunday will be leftovers.

Dessert of the Week: a quick bread or muffins... peanut butter banana muffins possibly.

(P.S. It is almost impossible to create a blog post with an almost 20 moth old climbing all over you and getting into everything he shouldn't!)

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

Pine Bros. Softish Throat Drops Review

When I was younger, I loved going to the convenience store which, no lie, was called Convenient. One thing I loved buying was packages of cough drops. And my favorite cough drop, by far, was Pine Bros. I really liked how it was soft and it was not minty. It was soothing but not overpowering.

I had not had them in years, so I was so excited to get the chance to try them again. And a week after they arrived I happened to get a nasty cold with a sore throat - which I still have!! Pine Bros. Softish Throat Drops were just the way that I remembered. They were soft and a little chewy, and they melted in my mouth. The Natural Honey flavor was so soothing and the Wild Cherry flavor tasted like cherries! I love that they come in pucks - so easy to keep in the diaper bag. No more loose cough drops, no more digging to find them in the bottom of your bag.

Pine Bros. Softish Throat Drops are available nationwide at CVS Pharmacy and retail for $3.49.  Flavors include Natural Honey and Wild Cherry with Licorice available in limited quantities this holiday season. Lemon-Citrus will be available next year. Connect with Pine Bros. on Facebook and Twitter - they have a number of contests going throughout the year.


I received one or more of the products mentioned above for free using Tomoson.com. Regardless, I only recommend products or services I use personally and believe will be good for my readers.

Hurricane Sandy and My Apologies

Well it has been quite a few weeks! Hurricane Sandy hit Long Island hard. We were lucky that there was no damage to us or our house, other than a piece of siding. We lost power for 7 days... and many other still don't have it or are just getting it back. We lost power again during the nor'easter - thankfully just for a few hours. We had a tree fall during that, but it just brushed the house.

However, the Verizon box that serves the neighborhood was damaged when a tree fell, and they had to wait for the power to be back on to that area before it could be fixed. So finally 7 days more we got our Internet, TV and phone services back.

That is why I have been gone so long. I have several reviews to write - most are overdue - and I will try my best to get them posted this week. A week from tomorrow my parents arrive for Thanksgiving, so I will have limited time for the following week. I do apologize for the delay! Trust me, I wish that Internet had come back with our power - but power and heat are the most important things!!!

Here are a few pics of my area... but it does nothing to really show how badly some areas got hit, especially on the south shore. I also added a few of the toddler :) I tried to organize them, and they got all messed up so they are a bit out of order.

helping pick up branches that fell

a tree across power lines... this one actually blocked the street before they cut it

eating breakfast in the dark

Halloween sock monkey... we went trick or treating at the outlet mall

more trees down

HUGE tree. Amazing how this tree just ripped out of the ground

helping to rake leaves

He loved all of the flashlights!

Ready to go explore in the snow!