No more dinner dilemmas

Dinnertime in our house has become a nightmare and I am done. I'm over it. No more, I say! No more begging and pleading, no more negotiating, no more nagging, no more bribing. Now that dinner is the first time we sit down together as a family each day, it WILL be a pleasant time, if it kills me!

I realize most of you will read this and think I'm a Nazi, but I know you have areas where you're fed up, well, dinner is an area where I am fed up. (Um, that sounded funny. No pun intended...)

I figured out a few months ago that if I give the kids an afternoon snack (no matter how light) they don't eat dinner. Easy solution: no more snacks. If they get hungry before Daddy gets home, I will feed them dinner early, but no more popcorn for dinner. Or raisins. Or granola bars. Or apples. And they've finally stopped asking, so that rule is working out well.

Also, I'm not one to cater my cooking to be kid friendly. Lunches more so, but never dinners. I don't make brussel sprouts and liver...I make good food and sneak in many pureed veggies that probably wouldn't get eaten, so I DO try to cook things that everyone likes, but I make one meal...that's it. And it's not chicken fingers with mac 'n' cheese. It may sound harsh, but the kids eat what we eat or they don't eat.

I expect some grumbling with my mommy-attitude, but I've finally created some new dinner rules (mostly for Mommy and Daddy) that should make the dinner hour nicer for everyone.

1. I will serve a little bit of everything to everyone. No more, "You can have a roll after you eat 5 bites of your chicken/green beans/something else healthy." I'll give the kids a roll with their meal and give them the choice of eating whatever they want to eat first on their plate, just like Mike and I do.

2. No seconds until everything on the plate is gone. Kaylin will eat a hundred carrots for lunch some days before touching her sandwich, so this rule goes for lunch, too. I'm glad she likes healthy food, but there needs to be a balance...carrots aren't filling enough to hold her over until dinner.

3. If the kids choose to eat the best part of the meal but are suddenly "full" before they eat anything healthy, I'm fine with that. BUT they will finish their dinner at lunchtime the next day. Wednesday I made soup and cornbread muffins for dinner and gave them the muffin with the soup for the first time. Of course, they ate the muffin and begged for more. I told them they could have another muffin when their soup was gone. But the soup had lentils and they refused to touch it. I'm sick of "you can get up after _ more bites." I've talked Mike into not forcing them to eat their dinner. But I did serve the leftover soup yesterday for lunch. They refused to eat it then, too, so that's what they ate when they woke up starving from their naps. Guess what? When they're hungry enough, they'll eat! Yes, I know this sounds stubborn of me, but my kids are both becoming ridiculously picky and ungrateful. I think about kids in large families or the kids starving in other countries. They eat what they're served or they don't eat. I think as Americans we spoil our kids and allow them to get away with way too much, just to avoid the battle. (and I don't judge you if you don't choose this battle, but I'm not making your kid a different meal if they come over to my house and I don't expect you to do that, either)

4. Everyone stays seated until dinner is over. The kids are asked to do this, so Mike and I have to, too. The reason I started this rule a while back was to train the kids to stay seated for longer periods of time, even when they're done eating. It has come in very handy when eating at restaurants; they know that they can't hop up and run around the place just because they don't want any more food. But when Mike gets bored waiting for the slow-pokes to finish eating and hops up to start the dishes, they get antsy and want to be done, too.

5. Dinner is 30 minutes. No more, no less, unless everyone is done eating. Somewhere along the way, dinner began lingering into an hour or more. With Mike getting home later, we've been going from dinner straight to bed with no time for Mike to spend with the kids. They play with their food, play with each other, have to go potty, get in trouble for gargling milk and go in time out...I'm done. If you're not done eating in 30 minutes, you can eat your dinner for lunch tomorrow. Again, sounds harsh, but this rule has seemed to correct the hour-long dinner problem. If they're not hungry, that's fine, but if they ARE hungry, then they need to eat and get it over with so we can move on with our evening and go play. When everyone's really hungry, dinner is over in 15 minutes, so I think 30 minutes is plenty of time. If not, I'll make it a little longer, but I have a feeling it will be fine.

6. No more force-feeding. I want the kids to trust their bodies and to be done eating when their tummies are full. No more, "3 more bites and you can get up" or bribing dessert for them to eat more food. If they're not hungry, they won't get pressure from us to eat.

We've already started some of these rules and they're working like a charm. Dinner last night was SO nice. We ate, we talked, there was no nagging, bribing or threatening...it was lovely. I sure hope that picking this "battle" won't backfire on me! My kids certainly aren't malnourished or starving, so I think they'll adjust pretty well to the new rules over the next few days. Wish me luck!

30,000 hits

I just reached 30,000 hits on my blog! I logged on and happened to notice that it read 30,002. That seems so high...I find it hard to believe that I've had so many visitors. Thanks for reading, everyone!!!

Menu Planning Basics

Early last year, I began pre-planning our weekly dinners and I've never looked back. It has saved me time and money, I've dramatically reduced our food waste and best of all...no more 5pm STRESS!

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I fought the idea of meal planning for a long time, partially because it overwhelmed me but also because it took the spontaneity out of dinner. But here's the thing: before meal planning, the stressful moments FAR outweighed the spontaneous ones.
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I'm sure many of you out there hesitate to try planning your menus. But hang with me as I break down the process to the basics so you can see how simple it really is.
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* Start by making a list of meals that you make regularly. I categorize mine by type: chicken, fish, beef and vegetarian and also by cooking method: crock pot, stove top, grill and oven.
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* Figure out what you already have that can be used to make a full meal. Start with fresh ingredients and produce then move to the freezer for meats and the pantry for dry items you have on hand. Jot down which items from your list that you can cook without going to the store for every ingredient.
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* Other places I find meal ideas are my recipe binder (to see if there are new recipes I'm willing to try that week or that I have all of the ingredients for), Cooking Light for healthy meals and Super Cook, where you can type in ingedients and it will pull up recipes to use what you have. I like to try at least one new recipe each week so I don't get in a rut, but that's just me...I like to cook and experiment.
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* Once you have about 5-10 meals written down, pull out your calendar (I used a small, checkbook-sized calendar that fit in my purse last year and it worked really well) and slot the meals into the days you'll cook them. (Tip: write in pencil! Plans change, schedules change, you'll end up with extra leftovers, you'll need some flexibility.) I like to plan easy meals on busy days, crock-pot meals on days when I have appointments in the afternoon and new recipes for slower days. I also reserve oven meals for the weekends because it heats up the whole house and we don't need the extra A/C costs when it's warm outside. In December and January we'll cook more in the oven, but I do my best to avoid it the rest of the year.
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* Make your grocery list. Look through the recipes one more time and check to see what you need from the store. Remember to see how much you need of an item or if it may be needed for more than one recipe and if you have enough of it.
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* One thing I have NOT been paying attention to is balancing fattening heavier meals with lighter meals within the same week. I think that's part of the reason my waist line has been expanding. Good food can still be high in calories, especially those with lots of cheese, butter or thick sauces. But who really wants soup every night for a week? Or chicken and rice four times? I need to look at the bigger picture and make sure I'm mixing it up.
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* The other thing I'm going to start doing is varying the contents of the meals. We seem to eat a lot of chicken, but then I'll go on a beef kick and eat too much beef in a week (I'd prefer to keep it to once a week, max) and I really want to incorporate my 65th goal of making three vegetarian meals each week for a month. So far, I'm having trouble just doing TWO.
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* I'm also going to start attempting to cook cheaper menus without completely sacrificing the quality of the meals. I recently found the $5 Dinners blog and will try to incorporate one or two of those each week, too. I've come to finally realize (I'm slow) that part of cooking cheap is shopping cheap and having food that you can use on-hand instead of buying it at a premium at the store. If you don't have much food stocked up, consider shopping from the sale ads and planning the following week's meals around those items. Read my recent post about how to save money at the store to learn how to reduce your grocery spending.
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So who's with me? Are you willing to give meal planning a try? Unless you eat out every night, you ARE planning your meals, it's just a matter of doing it once a week instead of seven times a week. You can still be spontaneous at breakfast and lunch if you just start with dinners. Menu planning definitely works for me!

Tuesday's Time Saving {Lunch} Tips

I'm an efficiency freak, so I love time-saving tips to shave extra minutes off tasks throughout the day. Anyone else like doing things in LESS time so you can have more FREE time!?!?!?

With a little prep work, making sack lunches can be quick and simple. They're healthier than eating out and much less expensive. Now that Mike's working far away from home again, I'm back to packing him lunches every day. I used to have this thing down to a science, and all of my short-cuts are slowly coming back to me.

Time (and money) Saving Tips for LUNCHES:

* Prep once, serve twice (tip 1) - If I'm going to make one sandwich, I may as well make two. I make sandwiches twice a week (and Mike eats them for 4 days) and he gets leftovers on the 5th day. I realized that Mike doesn't mind a day-old sandwich after several last minute staff lunches popped up and he had to save his sack lunch for the next day. PB&J works really well for this, but so does turkey, egg salad, tuna, whatever kind of sandwiches you make.

* Prep once, serve twice (tip 2) - If your family (kids, husband or yourself) is weird about a non-fresh sandwich, use the prep once, serve twice theory for the rest of you who stay home. I make lunches in the morning, so I will make Mike's 2 sandwiches (for the next 2 days) plus a sandwich for Kaylin and one for Ryan, then stick those in the fridge for later in the day. I already have all of the "stuff" out in the morning and it saves me time at noon when the kids are starving.

* Prep once, serve twice (tip 3) - I usually eat salads for lunch and make the same salad 90% of the time. Green leaf lettuce, 1/2 a tomato, 1/2 can of tuna or leftover chicken, feta, dried cranberries, sometimes chopped apple or grapes. Oh, and homemade oil and vinegar dressing. (I make the dressing in a larger bottle and use it for a week or two - 1/3 part balsalmic vinegar, 2/3 parts olive oil, a few shakes of Italian seasoning and a pinch of salt, maybe some chopped onion if I have it handy) When I get my lettuce from the produce co-op or the store, I wash, spin and cut it up right away. I stick it in a large Ziplock with a dry paper towel (to absorb the moisture) and it's ready to go. The only time I buy the salad-in-a-bag is when it's on sale for $1 and I get it free with a $1 coupon. Because seriously...I can make my own! I also use the prep once, serve twice theory with my tomatoes and anything else that I need to chop. If I'm dicing 1/2 of the tomato, I may as well continue dicing the whole thing and save the other 1/2 for tomorrow. Why dirty the cutting board and knife twice?

* Save money on portioned snack food - There's no need to buy those 100 calorie packs or mini bags of crackers and cookies. Do you have any idea how much money they make off those things? Buy a box of crackers and some "snack size" Ziplock bags and portion them out yourself. I watched my aunt in KC do this on Sunday afternoons for years and it was genius. She had a husband and 2 kids, so every Sunday she made 15 bags of crackers or chips plus 15 bags with cookies or another dessert. So as she was throwing the lunches together, she could toss in one of each...so easy.

* Prepare fruit all at once - You can pre-portion fruits and veggies, too. I wash and separate bunches of grapes as soon as I buy them (they also make a healthy and quick car snack) or you can slice apples or pears and stick them in Ziplocks, ready to go. Once cut, they'll last a couple of days - if you don't want them to turn brown or you want them to last a little longer, squeeze a little lemon juice on them and toss them in the bag to coat.

* Make-your-own "Lunchables" - A friend of mine just started doing this. Her son was jealous of his friend's "Lunchables," but she didn't have the money for that particular convenience food. Instead, she got creative: she sliced up some cheese and bagged it up with crackers and pepporoni slices with a small dessert and voila: Lunchables!

* Skip the drive thru - I realize fast food is quick and easy, but it can become quite expensive and is incredibly unhealthy. If you know you'll be out during lunch, whether shopping or on a play date at the park, consider packing a sack lunch to bring with you. Plus, think of how much less clutter you'll have from all of the missing toys from the kids meals!

Okay, that's all that comes to mind now. Do you have any time (or money) saving lunch tips? If so, please leave a comment so everyone can benefit! Next Tuesday, I'll post about other kinds of time saving kitchen tips.

#27 - Attept to make homemade cinnamon rolls

Do you ever feel so intimidated by something that you have a mental block against doing it? That's how I felt about homemade cinnamon rolls.

And now I feel like an idiot.

I've wanted to bake cinnamon rolls from scratch for over 2 years and was convinced I'd screw them up. Notice I subconsciously put "attempt to make..." in the title of #27 on my list! I just noticed this detail. We're talking a serious mental block.

This recipe for no-rise cinnamon rolls took 45 minutes from the time I pulled out the ingredients to the rolls hitting my children's lips. Incredibly easy. I put it on my meal plan for this week to force myself to finally try them. If you try these, two quick tips: I didn't add quite enough milk...they were a little dry. I think they would have been more moist, too, if I would have put them closer together in the pan. I just wasn't sure how much they would expand and the outsides were too crunchy as a result.

Next time, I'll plan ahead and make my friend's "Cinnabon"-like recipe that requires about 100 pounds of butter, some time to rise (I'll make them the night before) and taste like a little bit of heaven. When I do, I'll post the recipe with pictures to share.

Ryan ate his cinnamon roll just like he eats cupcakes...just the frosting on top, leaving hunks of crumbs on the plate. Kaylin ate every last bite and loved it. And I felt a little sick from eating sugar so early in the morning. So I made us all some eggs. (Ryan said, "Mommy, these eggs are good for me. I think I should have an egg every morning!" Fine by me, my little health-conscious boy!)

Then Kaylin said, "Mommy, I have frosting on my lip, just like Frosting the Snowman!" I love kids' interpretations of words.

#27 on my 101 goals list is officially crossed off - fear conquered!

A little laugh for your Monday morning

You don't need to watch all 9 minutes of this video to get a giggle. But do check it out...this guy's laugh is contagious!

Links to Freebies

Okay, friends...I've had many requests for the "how to's" of my grocery geek ways, so I thought I'd link to some current freebies.

But first, I explained my process of clipping coupons and planning my grocery trips in this post. If you don't know where to start with the overwhelming task of coupons, grocery lists and meal planning, read that whole post.

Here are some of the free things you can get right now. Realize that you DO need to print coupons that are linked to the post and bring them with you to get these deals. Just wanted to throw that out there for those of you who think I walk into the store, shop without a plan and save tons of money. My savings are pre-meditated, for sure. And if you clip coupons from the weekend newspaper, whoa mama...your savings will go through the roof. But I digress...

Groceries freebies (or CHEAP) this week:

* Johnson's Soap Buddies at Walmart (they're usually $.97 there and the link gets you to a copon for $3 off 3 Johnson's products, so you can get 3 for free)

* Progresso Soup for $.33/each and South Beach bars for $.38 each at Target - click here for coupon links

* Coffee-Mate creamer (Target and Walmart both have this product on sale for $1.50 right now - FREE)

* Ocean Spray Juice at Target

* Hansen's Junior Juice - anywhere

* Rice Works rice chips - valid anywhere (PS - you can print the coupon several times, but only use it once per grocery trip)

Other freebies:

* Arizona residents can get a free Chipotle burrito, taco, salad or bowl on Saturday from 2-4pm if you wear red (thanks for this Rachael!)

* Get 6 free personalized photo cards for Valentine's day - details here.

Also, I strongly recommend shopping the "deals" at CVS and/or Walgreens. I get free stuff from there weekly. Batteries, cold medicine, hair color, you name it. And sometimes it will be a money-maker deal, where they (technically) pay me $$ to leave the store with the product. (hence the 3 tubes of toothpaste sitting in my closet) For instance, I just got 5 boxes of Soy Joy bars. Have I ever tried Soy Joy bars? No. But they were $6 per package with a $6 ECB (extra cash back) bonus for the first 5 boxes you purchase. So they're technically free. BUT I had two $3 off 10 Soy Joy bars (and the boxes counted) plus 2 $1 off coupons, so again, I spent $25 (in ECB, so it was free) but left the store with $30 in ECB. They paid me $7 to leave the store with those Soy Joy bars. That are healthy and probably taste just fine.

I don't want to reinvent the wheel and list everything on sale at all the stores...that's why I always point you in the direction of Money Saving Mom and The Good Deal Gal. You can see MSM's freebies list here and GDG's freebies here. If going to their sites and seeing ALL the deals is overwhelming, consider saving those links to your favorites and checking in with them every day or two.

Happy Savings!!!

So many freebies!

I had another record breaking grocery trip this week. I saved 86% on my total bill at Fry's. To spell it out for you, I saved $86.61 and spent $14.77. There were so many free deals with sales and coupons, it was nuts. I also saved $30 just in coupons off my $81 bill at Walmart, which never happens to me because Walmart doesn't double coupons.

So, just to entice more of you to come down the road to coupon savings with me, here are the freebies I got:

7 Johnson's Soap Buddies

a box of Kashi granola bars

2 cans of Ro-tel diced tomatoes

2 cans of Hormel chili

2 boxes of Kleenex

2 bottles of Ken's salad dressing

1 package of Kraft cheese singles

5 bags of corn - Green Giant Steamers

1 bottle of French's mustard

1 bag of Quaker rice cakes

4 packages of 4 rolls of Cottonelle toilet paper

3 packages of Kotex pantiliners

3 Hallmark cards (at CVS)

Things I got for $.50-$1:

3 packages of Kraft cheese singles

6 (yes, six) boxes of Cheerios

1 box of Rice Krispies

1 bag of marshmallows (only $.25 - for Krispie treats, of course!)

3 Quaker oatmeals

6 (yes, six) more boxes of Kashi granola bars

1 jar of Kraft mayo

2 boxes of Fiber One bars

2 more boxes of Kleenex

You'll notice I got a ton of cereal, granola bars, cheese, kids soap, Kleenex and toilet paper, right? These are things that won't go bad. (well, the cheese will, but not too soon) My philosophy is: when it's on super sale and you can get it cheap or free, why not? Especially if it's something we'll use up; I am careful not to over-buy. (like 40 boxes of cereal *ahem* ANDREA...)

Seriously, people...if you haven't started clipping coupons, please do! Even though we eat very little processed food, I still get great deals. And I don't have to buy Cocoa Puffs and Rice-a-Roni to do it. I'm buying real, healthy food or household items and saving cold, hard cash. Does anyone else get a HIGH from saving like I do?!?!?

How I get it ALL done

Last week, I sat down and put together a cleaning schedule. I want to tackle #2 on my list of 101 Goals...soon. It popped into my head second out of 101 other goals for a good reason: cleaning is my enemy. (not a great attitude when hoping to tackle the problem, is it?) I love having a clean house, I just hate being the one to clean it.

While coming up with the daily cleaning to-do list, I realized that when Mike returns to work tomorrow, I'll need to come up with a whole new daily routine for myself and the kids. Completely different from anything I've known, considering the fact that since the day Kaylin was born, Mike's worked 5 minutes from home. I no longer need to plan around coming home to meet Daddy for lunch or rushing home by 4:30 every day to start dinner. There may even be days that he doesn't come home in time for dinner becuase he'll go to the gym on the way home from work. The down-side is that he won't be around as much anymore, but the up-side is that I'll have a little more time to get my own stuff done. (always trying to see the positive!) We'll go from eating 21 meals a week together *literally* to around 8-10 if you count weekends.

SO...since I'm often asked questions like, "How do you get so much done?" or most recently "Do you ever sleep?" I thought I'd share my new routine. I should add that I've come to realize that (unless I'm in front of the computer) I don't sit down much. There's always something to do. Dishes, picking up toys, putting away coats and shoes, sweeping crumbs from the last meal...it's never-ending. And now that the kids are old enough to enjoy playing together, I can sneak in chores throughout the day and spend naptime checking emails, blogging, scrapbooking or truly having downtime.

I love routines and don't mind at all if my days are too similar. I'm boring that way. (items that are bolded below are things I'm working on for my 101 Goals list) I am also a natural procrastinator, so I keep with the philosophy of getting things done ASAP. Otherwise, they sit on my to-do list for days and weeks. In fact, Simple Mom just wrote about Doing the Worst Thing First to get it out of the way so the rest of your day you can be free to enjoy yourself, guilt-free. It's a great philosophy and since I'm going to start getting up BEFORE the kids, I'll have extra time to do the things that I currently put off all day. Like Donna Otto says, "It's not what you DO that weighs you down, it's what you DON'T do." So true!

I'm also getting back on track with praying and reading my Bible in the mornings. I'm positive this will be easier if I do it before the kids get up. I'm going to intentionally pray for God's direction throughout the day, his guidance and wisdom in how to raise my kids, patience and grace in dealing with my family, and the strength to handle each situation gently. That's my new goal...I want to have a household that's calm and gentle. (it's currently a little loud to be considered either of those things!) Here goes:

Mondays

6:00am - Get up, read the Bible, read The Love Dare, check emails

7:00am - Kids up, dressed and fed

8:30am - Weekly babysitting swap with Julie

* The weeks that her kids are at MY house, I'll clean the kitchen, which is perfect to do (I can easily stop and start this project) while the kids play in the backyard or the downstairs playroom.

* The off weeks when my kids are at HER house, I'll run errands or catch up on leftover cleaning from the weekend. (probably bathrooms because I always procrastinate those)

10:30am - Pick up kids/Julie's kids get picked up...go to the gym

12:00pm - Lunch

1-3pm - Nap time (free time for me - blog, email, make phone calls, scrapbook, catch up on t.v., shower, stare at the wall, whatever I feel like doing)

3:00pm - Kid time...help Ryan with his reading and writing while Kaylin colors, then all do a craft or activity together

4:00pm - Kids play or watch a movie while I make dinner and pick up the house before Mike gets home

5:30pm - Dinner

6:30pm - Get kids ready for bed

7:00pm - Bible study comes over

Tuesdays

6:00am - Get up, read the Bible, check emails

7:00am - Kids up, dressed and fed

8:00am - Clean glass throughout the house

8:50am - Leave to bring Ryan to school

9:00am - Go to the gym

10:30am - Run errands (CVS for sale items, Costco, Trader Joe's, etc.)

11:30am - Pick Ryan up from school

12:00pm - Lunch

1-3pm - Nap time (free time for me)

3:00pm - Kid time...help Ryan with his reading and writing while Kaylin colors, then go to the park, ride bikes out front or something else outside.
4:00pm - Kids play or watch a movie while I make dinner and pick up the house
5:30pm - Dinner

6:00pm - Family time
7:00pm - Bath time

7:30pm - Kids go to bed

8:00pm - Laundry

Wednesdays

6:00am - Get up, read the Bible, check emails
7:00am - Kids up, dressed and fed

8:00am - Leave for the chiropracter

9:00am - Go to the grocery store

10:00am - Grandma Barb comes over to babysit

10am-4pm - Work for mom, return calls, respond to invitations and emails, clip coupons and write out the grocery sales for the week, meal plan, organize paperwork in office

4:30pm - Go to weights class at the gym

6:00pm - Dinner

6:30pm - Family time

7:30pm - Kids go to bed

Thursdays

6:00am - Get up, read the Bible, check emails
7:00am - Kids up, dressed and fed
8:30am - Leave to bring Ryan to school

9-11:30am - Volunteer in Ryan's class

12:00pm - Lunch

1-3pm - Nap time (free time for me)

3:00pm - Kid time...help Ryan with his reading and writing while Kaylin colors, then do crafts or play outside

4:30pm - Make dinner

5:30pm - Eat dinner

6:00pm - Family time

7:00pm - Bath time...clean the kids' bathroom while they play in the tub

7:30pm - Kids go to bed

Fridays

6:00am - Get up, read the Bible, check emails

7:00am - Kids up, dressed and fed

8:30am - Go to Yoga class at the gym

9:30am - Errands

11:00am - Dust, bake or do a craft with the kids

12:00pm - Lunch

1-3pm - Nap time (free time for me)

3:00pm - Kids watch t.v. while I clean the downstairs bathroom

4:00pm - Play outside, free time

5:00pm - Make dinner
6:30pm - Family time
7:30pm - Kids go to bed

Saturdays
9:45pm - Kickboxing class
11:00am - Vacuum, mop and do master bathroom
12:00pm - Lunch
1-3pm - Naptime
4:00pm - Leave for church
7:00pm - Bathtime
7:30pm - Kids to bed

Sundays
NO SCHEDULE - day off

So there you have it. I'm going to do my best to stick to the cleaning portion of this schedule if it kills me. I've come up with a very managable system for doing my dishes and laundry. (I run the dishwasher most nights before bed and unload it after breakfast and laundry is done on Tuesday and Friday nights) I would love to feel the same way about the rest of the household chores! I really hope my new schedule works for me. Does anyone have any other tips for helping me get a handle on my house cleaning???

#12 - Start an All About Me scrapbook

While I was flipping through my Creating Keepsakes magazine last week, I saw a scrapbook page by Ali Edwards with big, chunky numbers that said "1984" on it. The vision I had for an All About Me scrapbook was to document some events and memories about my life for my kids to read, just in case I get hit by a bus or something. :)

Seeing a 2-page spread of a year in this gal's life back in 1984 inspired me to take a different approach to beginning the scrapbook. I went through all of my old photo albums and pulled out 3-5 pictures of myself (or specific events that made the year memorable for me) and put them all on one page. I was so anal as a kid that I kept one of each of my school pictures, so I was even able to have some consistency with the layout of all of these pages.

Do you love the side pony tail? That was MY 1984, thank you very much!

Once I had all of the pictures separated by year, it was easy to throw them onto a page. All I need to do now is put together some text for each year and those pages will be done. #12 on my list of 101 Goals in 1001 Days is complete! The album is officially started.

My Husband Rocks - So Handy

My husband rocks because he's so handy. Not only did Mike spend last weekend putting up hooks all over my garage, he spent half a day (seriously - like 5 hours) putting together this dresser for our bathroom. It was a surprise Christmas gift from his parents and fits perfectly on the open wall in our master bath.

Within 5 minutes of helping Mike move it into place, I had it filled with spare toiletries, extra tissue boxes, make-up samples, you name it. Every drawer and basket is stuffed full and now the cabinet under my sink only has toilet paper and cleaning supplies. As it should be!!!

I love my new dresser. Now I just need to move that towel rack above it and put pretty decorative things on the top. Projects for another day!

Top 8 Tricks for a Guilt-Free 2009

This great list of "Tricks for a Guilt-Free 2009" was emailed out by Hungry Girl and I thought it was worth sharing. ENJOY!

1. Get by with a little help from your friends. Following healthy eating and exercise plans can be tough to do on your own. GET SOME SUPPORT! Find a buddy to walk with or join you at the gym. Compare grocery lists with a calorie-counting pal. (Check out our AWESOME new printable list for 2009!) And if you're a little shy about this kind of stuff, a discreet approach can be just as effective. Get your sweat on in your living room with a new workout DVD (consider the video trainers your new BFFs). And hop onto some discussion boards online to swap stories anonymously.

2. Just journal. Jotting down your daily diet is one of the best ways to stay on track. Even if you're too crunched for time to record every calorie, fat gram, POINTS® value, etc., just writing a little description of each meal and snack can have a huge impact. You can always review your choices later, and see if you need to make some changes. Ooh, and don't forget that old Weight Watchers credo, "Write before you bite!" That one's a keeper, since you're way less likely to scarf down 87 jellybeans if you see it in writing first.

3. When it comes to exercise, everything counts. Even if you can't get a full workout in one day, you can always squeeze something in. Go for a few calf raises while waiting in line at the bank -- or get a walk in before dinner. Do bicep curls with soup cans while you wait for the oven to preheat. Stretch in the shower (careful -- don't slip!). Commit to doing at least SOME physical activity each day.

4. Be prepared. Holiday shopping may be over, but you can still have a spree at the supermarket. A stocked kitchen is KEY to success, so print out our latest grocery list and hit the aisles running (okay, walking). Make sure to consider all your snacking and mealtime emergencies. Do you have purse-friendly snacks? How about nukeable dinner choices for when you get stuck at the office? Make a list of all your tough-eating scenarios and plan accordingly.

5. Rethink your resolutions. One of the main reasons resolutions fall short is because they aren't reasonable. If you're determined to lose 30 pounds by the end of January, you're setting yourself up for failure. If you've never exercised before noon in your life, yet you've made up your mind to hit the 6am cycling class five times a week, you probably won't do it. Adjust your goals and make them REALISTIC. Who says resolutions need to start on the 1st anyway?

6. Keep it fun. Face it -- if your meal plan is boring and your exercise routine's lame, you're never gonna stick it out for the entire year (let alone beyond that). So add some excitement. Find great new recipes to try out and seek out exercises that you actually enjoy. If running doesn't do it for you, try dancing. You can also take power-walks through the mall, try a new sport, hula hoop, take up karate, go swimming... Whatever! You can even work out with your video console (Wii Sports, anyone?). Just do it.

7. Rely on reminders. With all that's going on, you might need some "shoulder taps" to keep you from forgetting your New Year's wish list of personal goals. So buy yourself a cute calendar and fill it with activities. Schedule workouts. If they're written in your calendar, you'll be more likely to do them.

8. Forgive, don't forget! If you slip up and miss a day of exercise or accidentally inhale an entire week's worth of chocolate in one sitting, don't beat yourself up about it. It's one thing to acknowledge where you went wrong so you don't repeat your mistakes, but it's another thing altogether if you throw yourself a pity party that lasts until Labor Day. Don't give up, letting one bad day turn into a bad week or month. Be patient with yourself while you figure out what works. Live and learn!

#102 - (the one that didn't make the list)

Truth be told, I think a lot of things on my list of 101 Goals in 1001 Days are pretty conservative. I wimped out and didn't put as many of the "reach for the stars" goals that other people have listed.

One of the things that crossed my mind was to add the goal of being featured on someone else's blog, either as a guest post or by being interviewed. Other bloggers link to certain posts of mine quite often, which is humbling enough as it is, but I thought it was too big of a dream to publicly announce that I hoped to be featured on another blog. I further talked myself out of it by justifying that if someone did ask me, it would just be to fulfill the "check mark" on my goal list. I wanted to be invited to write a post or be interviewed on a blog because someone truly values my input. (I'm picky that way...)

Well! It was quite ironic that Maria at Thrifty Ways and Ideas emailed me with some questions about scrapbooking and asked if she could put the "interview" on her blog! What's even better is that, instead of reading the questions first and responding to the email later, I just hit "reply" and went through the questions one at a time before reading the email in its entirety. I didn't see the line about adding the answers to her blog until later, so my answers aren't as pre-planned as they might have been if I knew it was an interview in the first place.

If you'd like to see my interview on her blog, head on over and check it out. As cheap frugal as I am, I think my answers ended up fitting in really well with her thrifty blog theme!

#3 - Complete the never-ending project over our bed

Finally! This was seriously the never-ending project. I began it last summer and put everything up on the wall, I even posted about it being done. But it didn't look right. It was just...there. I decided it needed something to tie the 12x12 pieces together; an anchor. So I painted a celery-colored block, but it still didn't look right. Then I bought wood pieces to paint and assemble to "frame" the whole thing to make it look like all one piece. But those needed to be cut by my neighbor, then adhered to the wall...without being on my list of 101 Goals in 1001 Days, I don't know if I would have finished it until 2013. Giving myself over 2.5 years to finish it seemed like an attainable goal. :)

But today...it is complete!

Here is the "before" picture from August...

Then I painted the green block...

And the wood "frame" pieces...

And here it is altogether...

My bedroom looks complete!!!

Embarrassing Moments

I've read about some pretty hilarious embarrassing moments lately and wanted to share some with you. A few laughs for your Monday morning.

April's Reign - always good for a laugh

The Good Deal Gal - a daughter's innocence turned naughty

I love embarrassing moments. I go through phases of being embarrassed easily and other phases where I'm the culprit, yelling at others to "STOP touching me THERE!" in the parking lot or writing "for sexual favors" in the subject line of checks to friends. But I've definitely had some embarrassing moments of my own.

One of my favorite embarrassing moment stories is the mom who was on her way to the OB/GYN. She grabbed a washcloth off the bathroom sink to quickly freshen up "down there." During her annual exam, her doctor said, "Wow, it's really snazzy down here" or something equally odd. She didn't know what he was talking about, until she got home and realized she'd grabbed a washcloth that her daughter had used to wash off her body glitter. And it was all over her hoo-ha.

Then there's the one where the lady bought a package of mini cookies at the airport. While waiting for her flight, she noticed the man next to her taking one of her cookies out of the bag sitting next to her. She stared at him blankly and took a cookie for herself. He smiled sweetly and took another cookie. Appalled, she grabbed a handful of cookies, shoving them into her mouth. He smiled again and took another cookie. She was furious, snatched the bag of cookies and stood in line to board her plane. Once in her seat, she was getting settled and reached into her purse to find a whole, unopened bag of mini cookies. The bag she snatched belonged to the gentleman sitting next to her.

This last story has to be the best. (...because I'm in love with Brad Pitt. Even after the Jennifer Anistan thing. I know, I know, save your comments. We all have our vices.)

There was a gal who went to Hollywood and wanted to go someplace where she could see a celebrity. Someone told her about a drug store where celebrities are often spotted, so she went in and walked around. Nothing. They had an ice cream counter, so she stood in line to get ice cream. After standing in line for a minute, she turned around and saw Brad Pitt standing behind her. She nodded respectfully (freaking out inside, as I would be) and turned back around, trying to be cool. She ordered her ice cream cone, nodded to Brad again, and exited the store. When she got outside, she couldn't find her ice cream. She was humiliated, but went back in to ask the guy behind the counter if she'd left it there. She had not. She was really confused, looking all over the place, when Brad Pitt walked up to her. She looked up at him as he said, "Are you looking for your ice cream cone?" She said, "Yes..." Then he said, "You put it in your purse."

What's your most embarrassing moment? Leave it in a comment or post it to your blog and add it to Mr. Linky below.

#13 - Organize the sports equipment in the garage

Do you hear that choir of angels singing? I do.

It's because my garage looks like Mission: Organization from HGTV!!!

I wish I thought enough to take "before" pictures. The growing clutter in my garage has bothered me each and every time I've pulled in my car for over a year. We used to have one little tricycle and a wagon, but once Ryan got a big boy bike and a scooter (plus a helmet and all the accessories to go with it) the clutter began to expand. Mike also got a bike for his birthday, Kaylin got a little priness bike for Christmas, helmets with each of those...plus Ryan's new 2-wheeled scooter and the baseballs and bat that roll all over...I shouldn't have started down my road of frustration!

BUT Mike and I have fixed these issues. Last weekend, we went to Lowe's to buy some hooks to finally start this little project. Each hook was under $1, no big deal, but there were packages of 10 hooks that were originally $4-5, but on clearance for 72 cents. No joke. I bought 2 of those, plus 2 packages of ladder hooks for 82 cents each, again, on clearance. We did this whole project for under $3.50!!! (this was before Mike got his job offer, so I was seriously praising God about this huge savings)

Below are the tricycles, scooters and helmets. (I ran out of hooks, so I just used 3 inch nails for the helmets) I had leftover pieces from shorter shelves that I put up in the playroom a while back, so we put one up high for additional outside "things" like bubbles, sidewalk chalk, and littler things like baseballs and knee pads are in the black crate.

Another source of frustration were the umbrellas and the kids' tent in the coat closet that fell over ALL THE TIME. Hooks for those.

And while we were on a roll (and had extra hooks leftover) - we hung up the rakes, shovels and ladders, plus put bike hooks into the ceiling for Mike's bike and, eventually, mine.

If you click on the above picture, to the far right, you can see the 3 legged chair that needs to be repaired so I can cross off #56 from my list of 101 Goals in 1001 Days.

Just to the left of the door, Mike put up the 2nd piece of "scrap" shelf and I plan to put some hooks underneath for backpacks and jackets. (but I don't want to go to Lowe's for the 3rd time this weekend) And on the shoe shelves below, I'll put out-of-season shoes so my coat closet shoe-shelf isn't so overwhelming. But that wasn't a part of the official title of #13, so this item is officially done!

#50 - Get 25 comments on a single blog post

I had NO IDEA I would be crossing #50 off my list of 101 Goals in 1001 Days so quickly. I suppose extemely good news (the post that helped me reach my goal was about Mike getting a job) and extremely bad news would get lots of activity. But still, the most comments I've ever received is 21, and I usually get between 2 and 10, so I assumed 25 comments was a HUGE goal.

And even though my sweet friend, DutchMac, left 5 comments to push me over the limit, I'm crossing this off my list. (currently, there are actually 28 comments) Partly because I have a feeling I still may get a couple stray "congratulations" comments from my readers who only check in once a week AND I got over 15 emails congratulating Mike over the last few days, mostly people who don't like to comment.

So...I am THRILLED to cross off #50 on my list. And I even have another goal I get to cross off today! That post will be next...

No more second hand kids stuff?

Have you heard about the new bill that is going to prevent people from buying/selling gently used children's clothes and toys? So much for buying your kids clothes at thrift stores. And used children's stores, like Kid to Kid, Other Mothers and Once Upon a Child will be forced out of business. Within the month, they're going to have to dump all of their perfectly good clothes into lanfills because they certainly won't be able to afford the testing this bill is going to require.

What on earth??? Does anyone else think this is ridiculous? Shouldn't it by my choice and my responsibility to make sure my kids' clothes and toys are free from lead? I mean, really.

(You can read more about this bill here and here.)

There's a VERY quick petition that you can sign if you're a fellow mama who can't afford to buy everything brand new for their kids. This bill is set to pass on February 9, 2009, so don't put off signing.

Click here to sign the online petition. It's quick and it's free.

This link will take you to a contact map for congress and this link will take you to the law.

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If you choose to send a letter, I received this sample via email that you can use as a template, if you'd like:

Dear Senator ________,

Like many people I was concerned by the dangerous and poisonous toys that large Chinese toy manufacturers have been selling to our nations families, and I was very pleased that Congress acted quickly to protect America’s children. However, I strongly disagree with some of the terms of the Consumer Product Safety Improvement Act and I hope you take action to correct these items that will bring about many economic and environmental issues that might have been overlooked in the overall effort to increase public safety.

I am very upset that used children's clothing will no longer be able to be sold or purchased unless tested for lead and phthalates. I buy gently used clothing and toys. Children grow out of things so quickly, it's better environmentally, and it saves money. Soon this will not be an option for me if you do not act.

There are so many people that cannot afford new clothing and toys for their children. I am from a middle-income family and we are struggling now with the economy. This will also not allow charities to donate used items to children that are really in need. Goodwill and Salvation Army will not be able to sell this clothing. And think of all the second hand stores that are going out of business. Other economic impacts will be the loss of jobs nationwide as these stores are forced to shut down, higher consumer debt as consumers are forced to spend beyond their means for clothing they would not normally purchase, and potentially higher crime rates as a result of the increased theft in the clothing industry for the consumers who do not qualify for credit cards, or have the means to purchase outright. Losing the ability to trade-in clothing will be financially devastating to many families.

What about the environmental impact? According to the LA Times, "Those [products] that haven't been tested will be considered hazardous, regardless of whether they actually contain lead." So whether or not they are actually hazardous, millions upon millions of brand new toys and clothing will be tossed into landfills. Might I add that all of the "non-earth-friendly" plastic toys will surely sit there in the landfills for many years to come, whether or not they are even dangerous. Too bad they couldn't have been used and played with in the meantime! This law doesn't allow enough time for current used products to be properly tested.

This feels almost like a destruction of property rights or a devaluing of the currency. My goods are worth something on February 9th, but come 12:01 am that night, they suddenly lose their value. I believe that the CPSIA will cost many American families much more money than any economic stimulus check has ever benefited them.

It's not that I want my child wearing lead-filled clothing or playing with toys full of phthalates. But I also don't want to see a bunch of perfectly good items - items which people paid hard-earned money to buy - go to waste and then be replaced with costlier versions of the same thing. I think there can be a better balance than the current proposal set forth, and I'd like to see that bill be amended to allow for the resale of used items, at a minimum, to not make the bill retroactive. We need at least a two year reprieve, allowing for the new “labeled items” to make their way into the economy and into the second hand shops so as not to further the economic hardships that we are already facing as a nation.

Thank you, (Your Name)

(Update: there's a newer article here that says the resale items won't be affected by this bill. That was my biggest issue, but I'm still really disappointed about the affects this will have on smaller toy makers and mom and pop shops. Thanks Jen for letting me know!)

My Husband Rocks - Job Update

Today, I'd like to report that my husband rocks because...HE GOT A JOB!!! Not only did he land a job in this horrible economy...before we had to touch our emergency fund...or think about selling a rental house...he is SUCH a great employee, that he is going back to work for one of his old companies. In fact, it's the company he left to accept the job working with our church. He left on good terms, gave 3 weeks notice, trained the new person they hired, and his old boss valued him so much that she called his new boss (at the church) to rave about him and say how much he would be missed at the old office.

This old boss was one of the first people Mike called to put a bug in her ear that he was available for work again. She is also a Christian (around our parents' age) and completely understood why Mike left that company in the first place. There were no burned bridges when he left.

SOOOOO...she called a couple of days ago and said that they are paring down their staff, but would like to hire Mike back to replace the CPA that they are laying off! I know we should have jumped at the chance, but there are definite concerns with this offer. No health benefits - everything's out of pocket (hel-LO...no maternity insurance for baby #3 someday), plus the pay scale was a little less than he was ideally hoping for. Also, it's a small real estate company. Small in this economy is unstable. The real estate market in this economy is unstable.

As we were praying about it the other night, a small voice inside of me said, "WHY are you praying about this? There have been NO tangible job leads other than Make a Wish. There are a gazillion people looking for work right now and hardly anyone is hiring. Mike was considering applying at Starbuck's in a few months to help pay the bills. This is a good job with a good company in a nice part of town with a great staff. Are you seriously that greedy to consider holding out for something better???" I shared those thoughts with Mike, he took the day to continue making his decision and he officially called and accepted the job yesterday afternoon.

CONGRATULATIONS MIKE!!! And thank you to everyone for keeping us in your prayers, supporting me emotionally through this tough time in our marriage and for checking in with us to make sure we weren't ready for straight jackets. (I loved the calls and emails from friends who said, "No seriously...how are you REALLY doing? Give it to me straight." I have the best girlfriends in the world.)

I really enjoyed the time Mike was home with us these last couple of months. Well, most of it anyway! We had a couple of really hard weeks before Christmas, but I think it brought us closer together and strengthened Mike's faith. It took a bit of time for us to develop a new routine that included him, but once we did, it was nice spending so much time together. For those of you going through a layoff or a recent job loss, I will tell you that Mike's lowest point was at about 4 weeks, and I've heard that 4-6 weeks is a common rock-bottom for men. Continue to support your husband, pray for him, encourage him and build up his confidence, especially during the rough times.

The kids have gotten used to the four of us being together all the time. Not only Daddy being home during the days, but all of us together. I took Ryan hiking last week, just him and me, and he said he missed Kaylin and Daddy over and over until he was almost in tears. Last night when Mike and Ryan went to a friend's house to watch the final college football bowl game, Kaylin asked when they were coming home 100 times. Even when I have the kids alone at the grocery store for under an hour, they complain about missing their daddy.

Mike returning to work full time is going to be an adjustment for all of us. Personally, I've become quite comfortable being a little lazier, sleeping in a little later together and enjoying a more laid back, simpler life. They'll let Mike know his start date next week, so in the meantime, we're going to lavish in these last few days together, without the financial stress looming overhead.

We're really excited that God has given him this opportunity. I'm so grateful for my husband and proud of him for getting a new job!!!

Chicken Fried Rice

Serves 4 (1 ¼ cups per serving)
Cook: 10 minutes (plus rice)

Ingredients:
2 tsp dark sesame oil
8 oz pre-marinated teriyaki skinless, boneless chicken breasts, cut into strips
½ cup matchstick-cut carrots
½ cup sliced green onions
2 tsp bottled minced garlic
¼ tsp black pepper
4 cups chilled cooked brown rice (2 cups uncooked)
1 large egg, lightly beaten
2 Tbsp low sodium soy sauce
1 Tbsp water
¼ cup chopped cashews (optional)

Directions:
- Cook rice according to package directions. (slow cook rice and Minute Rice both work well)
- Heat oil in a large nonstick skillet over high heat. Add chicken, and stir-fry 4-5 minutes or just until done. Add carrots, green onions, garlic and pepper; stir-fry 2 minutes. Add cooked rice; stir-fry 2 minutes or until thoroughly heated.
- Push rice mixture to sides of pan, forming a well in the center. Add egg to center of pan, and cook 30 seconds; toss with rice mixture. Stir-fry until egg is cooked. Stir in soy sauce and water, and cook until thoroughly heated. Sprinkle with cashews.

**This can also be made by substituting the chicken with marinated pork, beef or veggies**

90% off at Target

I took the kids to roam Target tonight for some reason. I didn't need anything. I didn't even want anything. But we were out and Mike was busy at home and sometimes I miss running a million errands. (I just felt half of you roll your eyes at me...don't judge!) When you have no money, the only place you have to go is the grocery store.

I peeked at the Christmas clearance stuff at Walmart the other day after I realized I had some leftover Christmas money lingering. Nothing was interesting. At all.

But Target. OH Holy NIGHT - Target!!! There were slim pickin's, but everything was 90% off. 90%. That's like only paying the tax, people! This is what I got:

I already put away the 3 rolls of wrapping paper for 39 cents each and I didn't want to pull them back out for the picture.

I really wanted trees for each of the kids' rooms this year. This weekend, a friend gave me a smaller tree and I was on the hunt for a second one. These trees were 59 cents each!!! That's why I got 4. I can put one in every room of the house now. Overkill? Maybe. But why should the Christmas cheer only be in the main room with the big tree? No more, I say.

The garland was under $1 each, the photo frame ornaments were 39 cents each (I do pictures of the kids each year and didn't this year due to lack of funds) and the gift tags (of which I ran out before all of my gifts were wrapped this season) were 9 cents. NINE cents.

If you're near a Target, you must go check out their dwindling Christmas department. I've never seen a 90% off sale in my life. I hit the mother load!

Meal Plan - 1/5/09

Breakfast:
Crock Pot French Toast Bake
Oatmeal
Cereal
Crock Pot Granola

Lunch:
PB&J sandwiches with carrots and fruit
Cheese and bean quesadillas
Leftover lasagna
Leftover chili

Dinner:
Monday - Chili (with pureed spinach and carrots) and cornbread
Tuesday - Crock Pot Salsa Chicken Burritos
Wednesday - Baked Chicken & Garden Vegetable Couscous
Thursday - Leftovers
Friday - Spaghetti Carbonara
Saturday - Vegetable No-Noodle Lasagna

Check out the Organizing Junkie for more meal plans and recipes.

My Husband Rocks

I'm jumping right in. One of my 101 things to do in 1001 days was to participate in "My Husband Rocks" at Katy Lin's blog four Fridays in a row. No time like a present, right? So here's the first of four...

LAST Friday, the day after Christmas (the day that I was a sniffling, sneezing mess), my sweet husband got the kids up, dressed and fed while I slept in.

At 9am, he and the kids woke me with breakfast in bed. Sleeping in allowed me to kick my Christmas cold (and even enjoy our road trip to see snow all day) and I haven't been treated to breakfast in bed in ages. What I also thought was cool was that my kids got to participate and see the example Mike was showing them about how to serve others.

Please excuse my radiant, PJ wearin', nose-blowing, barely-awake beauty, but here is my keepsake picture of this memory...

Oatmeal, slices of banana around the plate with dollops of whipped cream, hot tea and even flowers. Does my husband rock or what?

Happy New Year!

Enough people have mentioned that they are starting their own 101 things in 1001 days list that I decided to add a Mr. Linky to my 101 in 1001 post. If you post your list or any other goals or New Years Resolutions on your blog, please feel free to add yourself onto Mr. Linky at the end of this post.

In the meantime, I'm hoping to do something else extreme. I can't afford Project 365, but I'm going to try to remember to take a picture each day this year and write a line or two about our day in a notebook in hopes that I can scrapbook a year in our life. Maybe instead of following the Project 365 format, I'll scrapbook 30-31 pictures in a one-month-at-a-time layout. We'll see if I remember to carry around my camera enough or if I fall off the bandwagon in March. :)

So, to start off the year right, here is our first picture of the new year. May 2009 be a fresh start for us all!!!

{Recipes by Category}

Breakfast Items

Almond Flax Granola
{Melt-in-Your-Mouth} Apple Coffee Cake *
Apple Fritters
Baked Oatmeal
Buttermilk Pancakes
Cinnabon Cinnamon Rolls *
{Easy} Cinnamon Roll Muffins *
{Whole Wheat} Crepes
Crock Pot French Toast Bake *
Homemade Crock Pot Granola *
Orange-Pecan French Toast Casserole
Pink Piggy Pancakes
Whole Grain Waffles

Breads, Muffins and Other Baked Goods
{The Best} Banana Bread
{Healthy} Blueberry Coffee Cake{Guilt-Free}
Bran Flax Muffins
Morning Glory Muffins
Granola Bars
Olive Oil Bread
Pumpkin Chocolate Chip Muffins
Whole Wheat Blueberry Muffins
Whole Wheat French Bread Rolls *
Whole Wheat Bread
Zucchini Bread
.
Soups, Salads and Appetizers
{Crock Pot} Bean Soup with Tortilla Chips
{Frugal} Bean Stew *
Chicken Chiptole Salad
Chili *
{Healthy} Corn Soup with Cheesy Garlic Toast
{Healthy} Cream of Potato Soup *
Creamy {Crock Pot} Broccoli and Chicken Noodle Soup
Five Layer Mexican Bean Dip
Fruit Salsa
Hummus - Roasted Red Bell Pepper Hummus
Hummus - Tomato and Basil
Lagoon Chicken Salad *
{PF Chang's} Lettuce Wraps
{Crock Pot} Minestrone Soup *
Pine Nut Orzo Salad
{Vegetarian} Southwestern Quinoa Casserole
Strawberry Spinach Salad
Vegetable Bean Soup with Spinach *
White Pizza Pinwheels

Main Dishes

Baked Egg and Cheese Crepes *
Beef Stir Fry *
Bowties with Broccoli & Sausage
Chicken Enchilada Quiche
Chicken Fried Rice
Chicken Parmesan *
Chicken Pesto Packets *
Chicken Pesto Pizza
{Healthy} Chicken Pot Pie *
{Slow Cooker} Chicken Taco Stew
Chili
Crock Pot Chicken Burritos
Crust-less Quiche *
{Supper Size} Egg Rolls
Garlic Chicken Farfalle
Lasagna Roll Ups
{Healthier} Mac 'n' Cheese
Manicotti with Homemade Noodles
{Easy} Meatball Calzone
{Rachael Ray's} Meatloaf Roll Up *
Pasta e Fagioli *
{Easy} Pork Roast on the grill
Potato Tortillas
Pretzel Crusted Chicken Fingers
{Healthy} Quesadilla Pie
Ranchero Mexi-Chicken Crostada *
Ravioli with Balsalmic Brown Butter Sauce *
Rice, Bean and Cheese Casserole
Sloppy Joes *
Southwestern Chicken and Bean Pasta *
Spaghetti Carbonara
Tator Tot Casserole
Turkey Tetrazzini *
Vegan Shepherd's Pie *
Veggie Packed Pasta
Vegetable Penne with Pesto
{Crock Pot} White Chicken Chili
.
Desserts
{Easy} Apple Turnovers
Banana Boat Snack
Black Bean Brownies
Blueberry Pie with Graham Cracker Crust
Buttery Sandwich Cookies
Chocolate Cake with Chocolate Frosting
Chocolate Chip Cake Mix Cookies
Chocolate Chocolate Chip Cookies
{Martha Stewart} Chocolate Crackle Cookies
Chocolate Krispie Treats
Chocolate Oat Bars
{Amish} Chocolate Peanut Butter Cookies
{White Chocolate Dipped} Chocolate Peppermint Cookies
Crisp Topping
Millionaire's Shortbread
Mint Chocolate Chip Cookies *
Monkey Munch/Muddy Buddies/Puppy Chow
Mrs. Fields Chocolate Chip Cookie Bars
Nutella Rolls
Oatmeal Caramel Bars
{Amazing} Peanut Butter Cookies
{Chocolate Dipped} Shortbread
{BEST} Sugar Cookies - don't need to refrigerate the dough!
.

Looking for something I posted recently? Click here to view all recipes on my blog in reverse date order.

* Indicates recipes from other sites that I also recommend.