Menu Monday??

Good Morning, Everyone.

This morning's title is a bit deceiving...I would normally post my week's menu today, however, I have no idea, as of yet, what this week will bring.  My grandmother ("Mo") died this weekend and I haven't had the time or energy to even think about planning for food.   

It was a peaceful end for her and we really couldn't have asked for better.  All the women in my family spent the whole day with her and after my aunt left (who she's lived with her whole life), only my Mom, Sister and I stayed.  We hunkered down and prepared for a long night.  I think she knew that watching her die would have been very hard for my aunt, and so she waited.  All day, she waited..sleeping peacefully and just slowly slowing down.  Until my aunt left.  Then, not more than 40 minutes later, with my sister, Mom and I holding her little body and telling her it was ok, that we would take care of my aunt and that we would miss her but that it was ok for her to let go, she did.  Just "poof" and that was it.  Peace.

I'm not sure its completely hit me yet.  Actually, I know it hasn't.  Yesterday was a whirlwind (complete with some ridiculous family drama from some extended out of town family that I really really could have done without).  I haven't really had a chance to process it yet and I feel like if I let myself cry it will never stop.  So, right now, I'm trying to stay strong and deal with arrangements (and asshole family members) so that my Mom and Aunt don't have to.  Sweet Mo.  

Anyone out there have any advice or stories to share?  I've never seen anyone die before.  Death is something that has always, quite frankly, scared the living daylights out of me.  It was much more peaceful than I was expecting and I felt that finally, she was resting as she sooo deserved after such a long life.  Anyway.   I miss her.

~Bean

Potty Rockets

Haha!  That's what I was woken up to this morning.  Except the actual song goes "Party Rock is in the house tonight"..and my sweet sweet little Nugget thinks its "Potty Rockets in the house tonight".  Oh, I woke with a smile this morning.

I thought I'd share with your a quickie little craft that I did over the Christmas Break.  Do you have any random pants that you can no longer wear?  That's all you need (mostly)!  I had an old pair of scrub pants that had been painted on, torn and were just waay past the point of wearing..even for home only purposes.  Sooo, rather than trashing them to rot away in the landfill, I upcycled them...and created 2 lovely little drawstring bags.  I gave one to my son to hold his little toys when we are going somewhere that requires a few toys, but not enough for an entire backpack.  My dad actually requested the other one to hold golf stuff (or something).  The best part of it?? They only required ONE SEAM EACH!! Yahoo!!!

First, cut the legs off the pants...to the length of bag you want to have (within a 1/2 inch or so).  

Next, Turn inside out and sew the cut sides together to make the bottom of the bag (so that the hemmed part of the pant leg is the opening of the bag).  

Then, turn back right side out and cut a small hole in the (old) hem of the pant leg.

Lastly (I'm pretty sure that's not an official word but I use it none-the-less), thread a piece of ribbon, chord, rope, old shoelace (whatever...I used some old jute that I had lying around) through the old hem and tie!

They look a little something (actually exactly) like this:

These little bags make me so happy!  I've actually been saving all these old jeans that the Diddle wore as a kindergartener (when it was cool to rip the heck out of your knees at recess!)...thinking that they might make good shorts for the Nugget..however, I think they have "little denim bags" written all over them...maybe embellished with patches, or names or puffy paint (yes, I said puffy paint!)...ahhh, the possibilities are endless!!!  How cute would these be for little gift bags?? 

What fun things have you done with something seemingly unusable??  Please share!!

xo

~Bean

Sick-O!

Good Morning!

Nothing like a sick kiddo to start your morning!  Thought I'd take this opportunity to post the yummy yummy soup recipe from last week!

Melancauli Baby!

Taken from Eat, Shrink and Be Merry by Janet and Greta Podleski

Heat 1 T olive oil or butter in a soup pot and saute 2 C sliced leeks and 2 t minced garlic until leeks begin to soften. Stir in 4 C small cauliflower florets, 1 1/2 C peeled/cubed sweet potato, 1 1/2 t curry powder and 1 t cumin.  Cook and stir for one more minute.  Add 4 C broth, 1/2 t salt, 1/4 t pepper.  Bring to boil.  Reduce heat, cover and simmer 12-15 minutes, until veggies are tender.

The recipe then calls for you to transfer 1/2 soup to a blender but I use my immersion blender and give it a couple of zhuzhes.  

Stir in 1 C cooked brown and wild rice blend, 1 C evaporated milk and 1/2 C shredded light swiss cheese.  Heat for one more minute and serve hot!

Yummmmmmy!!!  

Have a great day...I'm off to find a barf bowl and maybe some crackers and ginger-ale!

~Bean

Big 5!

Good Morning, everyone!

We had a busy weekend...2 hockey games, 2 train rides, children's science museum and a visit with my Mo at her new home.  I feel like I could sleep for about 20 hours straight...I'm glad the rain held off until this morning!  

So my littlest one (Nugget) will be turning the Big 5 next month and has been bugging and bugging us to paint his room blue (his room has been green since I originally decorated before he was born).  Funny enough, my oldest (Diddle), has a blue room and has been begging us to paint it green. When I suggested that maybe they just switch rooms, I was met with complete indignation..."but that's MY room!!"  Soooo, since both rooms actually really do need a new coat of paint anyway, the Teacher and I decided that for their birthdays (both of which are in February), we would update their rooms.  Here are some shots of the progress in the Nugget's room...we haven't started Diddle's yet.  One step and a time right?  

Here is before (well, sort of before...we'd already moved some stuff around and piled a bunch of crap, stuff on the bed when I remembered that I should take a before shot!)

 Busy right?  He has a love affair with Mario.  The border is left over from when he was an infant and the oh-so-classy bedsheet as a curtain is what we ended up doing as a temporary fix for a broken blind situation.  The bed is our original bed..used to be wood colored and black, but we painted it white when we moved it into Nugget's room a couple of years ago.  So, here's the next shot...

A basic white primer.  Next up, a little help:

Next, we taped off some stripes:

You didn't really think that we'd get off without ANY Mario posters did you?  Some cheap-o poster frames from Wal-Mart refreshed them considerably!

TaaDaaa!!  Here's where we are now.  Still need some finishing touches (roman shade is the plan for the window and I want to paint the dresser...I'm actually thinking of using a butter yellow as an accent in here..what do you think??

 (I switched out the blue baskets from Diddle's room...the red one will go too eventually since it sticks out like a sore thumb!)  All in all so far, this room make over has cost $100 and that went toward paint, tape, poster frames and the new bed spread/shams set.  Here's the before/after:

BEFORE:

AFTER:

..And one happy (almost) 5 year old (and his Daddy):

Oh!!  Before I forget...I never posted the remainder of my recipes from last week so I'll go ahead and put one up now.

Red Neck Salad

(I came up with this one for Diddle's 4th Birthday because it was Naascar themed...and we've made it a million times since)

Poach 2 chicken breasts.  Shred chicken and toss with buffalo sauce/marinade.  Serve over salad of greens ( I usually use Romaine for this but you can make it truly redneck by using iceburg!), chopped or shredded carrots, and diced/chopped celery.  Sprinkle with blue cheese crumbles and serve with light ranch dressing.  If you EVER have a craving for wings...this is definitely a healthier alternative and is JUST as delicious (plus, you can eat a boat load of it and not feel guilty!)

Happy Monday, everyone!!

~Bean

Thursday Blues

Hey All!

Sorry to have been MIA...like I said before, I picked a winner of a time to start a blog.  Sheesh.  This time however, the craziness is family related as opposed to work related and I am a bit sad this Thursday afternoon.  

Actually, that's an understatement. 

I think I have mentioned in a previous post that I have a grandmother "Mo", who is nearing her 100th Birthday.  Well, she has been declining due to do dementia over the last year and between the women in my family, we've been able to keep her home.  

Until now.  

She lives with my (almost) 80 year old Aunt (I've got great longevity genes) and it is just too much for her to handle any longer.  Everyone plays their part and we have some professional help as well....but it has become increasingly clear, over the past 2 months or so, that something was going to have to give and that we needed to start exploring other options.  It has always been understood that we take care of family and I've always thought of nursing homes as places for people to go when they have no family to take care of them.  This adjustment has been extremely difficult to swallow.  

That we can no longer care for the woman who fled from Lithuania on foot in the middle of the night with 3 children (and one on the way) with nothing more than she could carry on a small pull-wagon so that her husband would not be sent to Siberia (or worse) during World War 2, has been a bitter pill.  (seriously, this is movie material)  That she has put herself at the bottom of the pile her whole life so that we, her family, could have a chance for happiness...and that now, we her family, cannot care for her in the way that she deserves and needs pretty much sucks the big one.  

So a week ago, my mom and my aunt were given the opportunity to visit some nursing homes in the area and saw one home (out of several) that they thought would be a good fit for her but were warned that beds rarely became available for people in her position (Medicare dependent).  And then yesterday, after a week of sleepless nights because Mo has been fighting to get out of bed and clawing and biting and moaning and crying all night long, they got the call that said a bed was open and they  needed to move quickly if they were still interested.  So after long and heartbreaking consideration, an ambulance came to take Mo to her new home today, with my aunt riding along and my mom following in the car. 

I'm heartbroken and I feel guilty and just so so sad.  I'm sorry to put this all on you blogosphere, but I just needed a vent.  Sooo, I'm not going to post my recipe for the day...because I'm too sad.  If anyone out there reading this happens to have any words of wisdom, I'd appreciate it.  My head knows that this is the right decision, but my heart hurts for it.  Not fair.

~Bean

MLK Menu Monday!

Happy Birthday Martin Luther King Jr!

Ok, so I probably picked the busiest time in my life to start a blog..hence, my absentia last week..sorry!  I hope you enjoyed the menu provided by my buddy, Victoria last week.  Delish!  Anywhooo, its my week for menu planning so here is my plan for this week:

Monday:  Blast from the Pasta, which can be found in one of my most favorite cookbooks, Crazy Plates by my VERY most favorite cookbook authors, Janet and Greta Podleski.  Should you continue to visit me, you'll notice many of my recipes are adapted, or just plain taken, from their series of cookbooks.  I keep them right on my counter for easy access because I love them so much.

Tuesday:  Redneck Salad; this one I made up myself...think (healthful) Buffalo wing Salad.

Wednesday:  Melancauli Baby; this one also taken from my favorite cookbook authors, this time out of : Eat, Shrink & Be Merry! This is a curried cauliflower soup that is sooo yum!

Thursday:  Firecracker Veggie Roast; I originally got this recipe from Cooking Light Magazine, about a million years ago and keep going back to it.  I change up the veggies and the starch, but the rub is divine just as it is written!

Here's the ingredient list (heavy on the produce this week!):

What I Already Have:                              vs.  What I Need to Buy:

2 Chicken breasts (in my freezer)                            romaine lettuce    

Celery (2 stalks)                                                       blue cheese crumbles

carrots (2)                                                                1 each red/yellow/green pepper(s)

Light Ranch Dressing                                              1 fennel bulb

Buffalo sauce/marinade                                           6-8 oz mushrooms

1 lb. ground turkey (in my freezer)                          1 small head broccoli (2 C)

onion (yellow)                                                          1 large head cauliflower (6 C total)

cream of celery soup                                                1 med tomato

milk                                                                          2 large leeks

oregano                                                                    1 big sweet potato

chili powder                                                             1 jalapeno

paprika                                                                      fresh mint and basil

black pepper/salt                                                       28 oz can diced tomatoes

crushed red pepper                                                   10 oz can cream tomato soup

olive oil                                                                     14.5 oz can garbanzo beans

garlic                                                                          1 C 20% evaporated milk

curry powder                                                             1/2 C shredded swiss cheese

cumin                                                                        Box couscous

brown and wild rice blend**                        

soy sauce

Italian seasoning

4 C chicken stock (freezer!)

8 oz. whole wheat, short cut pasta

**Because this stuff takes so long to cook, I usually cook off an entire bag and then store it in my freezer so that it is ready to go when I am!  I do the same for chopped onions and stocks!

Ok..here's the recipe for dinner today (I tried to find the recipe posted online somewhere but couldn't..boo!)

Blast from the Pasta:  (The recipe originally called for ground beef, but I use turkey instead; I also use a little different method so I only have to dirty one pot)

Cook the ground turkey in the bottom of a BIG soup pot until the turkey is no longer pink.  Add one chopped onion, 1 chopped green pepper and about 2 C sliced mushrooms.  Cook until the veggies begin to soften (3-4 minutes).  Stir in the can of diced tomatoes (UNdrained),  and the tomato and celery soups.  Stir until well blended.  Add 1/2 C milk, 1 1/2 t Italian Seasoning, 1 t chili powder, 1/2 t paprika and 1/4 t each black pepper and red pepper flakes AND 8 oz UNCOOKED pasta.  Stir it up and bring to a boil, stirring occasionally.  Reduce heat to low and simmer about 30 minutes, continuing to stir occasionally.  

This makes 8 GIGANTIC servings (if you make with beef its only 323 calories per serving..seeing as how I make it with lean turkey, I have to think that this version is a bit less!)...leaving room to serve with a little sprinkling of shredded cheese.  My family LOVES this recipe...I hope yours does too!!

xo

~Bean

Menu Monday!

I can't believe it's been a week already..what happened to the weekend??  This week, (just for giggles) my good friend, Victoria Winters over at Bird on a Line and I have decided to team up and she is providing the menu of the week...and I must say...darn girl, you guys eat well!!!  We are hoping to share this responsibility and use it as a way keep in touch as well as support eachother in our efforts of...well, keeping our New Year's Resolutions (of budget friendly and waist friendly eating)!  As an introduction, here are some goofy pictures of a recent girls' weekend we took up in Monterey, visiting our other good friend.  So without further ado, this is my friend Victoria and I!

 

And here's us running into the ocean...in our CLOTHES!  Why?  Why NOT!!! (quite possibly we'd had a bit too much wine?  This was after a day of wine tasting....so we weren't feeling too cold!) By the way...do you have those kinds of friends that you can do/say anything with and won't be judged or looked at (too) weird?  I've know VW since the 1st grade...so she's one of those kinds of friends for me....ahhhh feeling nostalgic!

And I just have to include this one..because it makes me giggle every time I look at it..this Victoria enjoying her lavender scented hands...heavenly!!

Please head over to her site for the menu..my taste buds are watering already!!! mmmmm

~Bean

A Mini Makeover

Hey there!

Have you ever had one little thing inspire you to make a change?  I'm not talking about life altering change, but something small that changed the course of your day?  Like finding an old pair of earrings and planning your outfit around it?  That happened to me once.  With a lamp.  Yup, a lamp.  This lamp actually:

Isn't it beautiful??  I thought so too.  I was out shopping at Home Goods with my Mom (looking for something totally unrelated) when I saw it.  The Teacher and I had been looking for a bedside lamp (so that I can read in bed while he tries to sleep) for a long time and this one spoke to me.  Let me backtrack for a second.  Usually, our bedroom looks like this:

I think it could probably be described as having "good bones" but lackluster in the style department (even if those boys are so darn cute!)  So anyway, I bought that lamp.  I put it up in the room (as pictured above), stepped back to admire my handiwork...and then PANICKED!!!  WHYYYY didn't I buy the second lamp???  It looked so lonely all by itself in that great big room.  So I called my Mom and told her that we must absolutely get back to that store RIGHT NOW!! (If you've ever shopped at Home Goods, you know...if you see it and love it..you'd better BUY it because it could be GONE in a flash (especially on a busy Saturday)...which is part of why I love that store..I always feel like I've found something special!)

So off we went...and, Hallelujah...it's partner was still there.  Patiently waiting, for..ME!  As was a to-die-for mirrored side chest (the 2nd lamp needed a place to sit after all) AND the most perfectly meant-to-be bedding set.  I mean seriously....was this NOT meant to be???  Here's the after:

I got home, put it all together..admired and congratulated myself upon such great style finds...and then waited for The Teacher to freak out because I'd bought so many things. (I have a "stash" that I contribute to in order to finance these (very rare) spending sprees (..or at least what I consider to be a "spree")...overall total for all new pieces came in at just under $250!!)  But the good news was..He LOVED it!  And so do I!!!  

I'm still not sure what to do above the bed...any suggestions??

By the way..please notice the wall picture to the right of the bed...that is a tapestry that my grandma (who will be 100 in April!!) made for me when I had my first son...It is one of my prized possessions and I can't believe how beautiful it looks in this room.

So what small thing has led to a sequence of change (big or small) in your life??  

And...before I forget...Here's today's recipe (this is the first time I'm trying this recipe so let me know what you think):

Mexi-Chicken Lasagna

In a large skillet, saute: 1 large (chopped) onion, 2 (chopped) celery ribs, and 2 (chopped) bell peppers until crisp tender.  Add 1 clove of minced garlic and cook for an additional minute.  Next, add your shredded chicken from earlier this week along with your cans of cream of celery and cream of chicken soup, your can of tomatoes (undrained) and 1 T of chili powder.  

Line the bottom of your casserole dish with 2 or 3 tortillas and top with half of the chicken mixture and 1 C shredded cheese.  Repeat the layers and bake, uncovered, at 350 for 30-35 minutes.  

Makes 8 servings (329 cal; 12 g fat, 31 g carbs, 3 g fiber)

Ole!

~Bean

A Pinteresting Post

Happy Hump Day Everyone!

I love Pinterest.  I don't just love it...I  love  LOVE  L.O.V.E!! it...If I could marry it, I would.  Seriously.  In my efforts to a) save money, b) do good things for our planet and c) decrease my family's exposure to chemicals, I'm always looking for healthy/green alternatives to commercial products....and Pinterest, my friends, is a veritable GOLDMINE for this!  Now granted, this was my first foray into the home-making of something like this (and I'm sure there are a lot of crappy recipes out there too), but I'm super excited to share, with you, my 1st experience with...

drum roll puh-lease.......

Home Made Laundry Detergent!!!!  

(doesn't that make you just a little bit giddy??..Did I mention I'm a bit of a geek??)

I came across this:  http://whynotsew.blogspot.com/2010/08/how-to-make-homemade-laundry-detergent.html whilst cruising Pinterest one not-so-long-ago day.  I checked the ingredients list....and happened to have them ALL IN MY HOUSE already...bar of soap? check.  Borax? check.  Washing soda? check.  water, containers and a funnel? check, check and check!!!! (don't you just love it when that happens??)

Anyhoo...after telling everyone I came across that day, what I was going to make (and listened to my sister tell me that I would probably smell like a dirty hippie)..I got started.  

It was VERY easy.  It did come out to be the consistency of "snot" but has done a beautiful job on all of my laundry this week!  The only thing I would add to her directions would be to let it cool completely before transferring to your containers.  I had read that some people had the problem that their soap was too thick so I was a little worried...and I'm glad I waited because by the next morning, it was WAAAAY too thick to pour...was more like the consistency of grape jelly.  Sooo, I reheated it and added another 1/2 gallon of water (and probably could have added more).  This recipe actually made more like 2 1/2-3 gallons of detergent for PENNIES, when compared to commercial laundry detergent.  Its not the most appetizing thing to look at (like I said, it bears a strong resemblance to snot..not in color, but in consistency) but I love that I know everything that went into it and my laundry has come out fresh smelling and soft, so I have no complaints.

How about you?? Have you found any gems that you'd like to pass along?  GO PINTEREST!!

BTW...here's today's recipe..super easy, quick and delicious!

Mixed Green Salad with Grilled Shrimp

In 2 large meal-sized bowls, place 2 C of the mixed greens of your choice (we used an organic spring mix), 1 oz crumbled goat cheese (you can use Feta if you don't like goat cheese), and 1/4 C dried cranberries.  Dress with 1-2 T of your favorite dressing (I like Marie's Balsamic Vinaigrette in the refrigerated section).  Top with 4 oz of grilled shrimp ( I sprinkled with lemon pepper before grilling)....YUM!!!!

BTW..since we are pigs trying to increase our lean proteins and keep our carbs low good, we actually doubled the shrimp serving for only 70 additional calories.  Total calories are under 400, depending on what dressing you use...and that's WITH the double serving of shrimp...what can I say? We were pigs..hungry!!! 

Have a great day!
~Bean

Quilt of the Month

Happy Tuesday Everyone!

I like to sew.  I'm learning...albeit slowly, from my friend, Jamie.  The very first thing we sewed together was a baby quilt for a teacher at the school where we used to work.  I have a hard time believing that was almost 8 years ago already!  She taught me how to make a basic log cabin quilt using the book Quilt in a Day by Eleanor Burns; which I highly recommend to anyone who wants to learn to sew but is hesitant in starting a big project (straight lines only for the log cabin!!).  I have to say, it is still my go-to quilt when I need to make a gift.  Don't be fooled by the name, however, it does take more than a day to make...athough, possibly if you had an entire day to commit (seriously..who HAS that kind of time??), it could feasibly be done.  

This past November/December, The Teacher's aunt has been battling esophageal cancer and, at the age of 84, underwent rounds of radiation and chemotherapy.  She's made of good stuff..by the end of her treatments she reported "a bit of a sore throat".  Amazing.  Anyhow, I thought she might like to have something snuggly to take with her to and from the hospital during her treatment, so I pulled out my handy dandy (and worn!) copy of Quilt in a Day, went to my neighborhood JoAnn store and came up with this color scheme:

Her favorite colors are blue/turquoise and these felt cheery and upbeat.  Anyhow, then I got busy stripping (heehee):

and soon had this:

Here you can see the super soft snuggly fabric on the back (which means I didn't have to use batting!):

Here's a close up:

And there it is:  The Eileen!  Here's praying that her treatments worked and that her 2012 will be chock full of health...goodness knows, she deserves it!

This year, one of my New Year's resolutions (#2) is to learn to put in a zipper.  How about you? Do you have a special craft or project that you use as your "go-to" when you want to give some one a "pick me up'?  OR do you have any craft-related resolutions for 2012??

Hope you are having a great 1st week of 2012!

~Bean

PS...I tried taking a picture of the Enchilada Soup this evening...let's just say it tasted WAAAY better than it looked in the picture..so I'll spare you!  Which reminds me:

Slowcooker Split Pea Soup:

In your slowcooker, combine:  2 Cups split peas, 2 C diced ham, 1 medium carrot (chopped), 2 ribs celery (chopped), 1 medium onion (chopped), 1/2 t salt, 1/4 t pepper, 1T Italian seasoning,  and 5 C stock.  Stir, cover and cook on low 8-10 hours or high 4-5 hours!  1 Cup= 265 calories and 5.4 g fat. Bon Appetite!  

Menu Monday

Hey All!

I'm pretty busy throughout the week with work, soccer practices, baseball practices, PTA (gack, I'm one of THOSE Moms!) etc., but eating healthy and sitting down to dinner as a family as often as possible is important to me.  From early on (even before my kids were born), I've always been a menu planner...I think it came from going to dinner at my elementary school BFF's house and seeing her mom's menu plan on the counter each week.  In my family, we ate together...but I don't really remember my mom being a planner...I think she (or my grandma, who stayed with us during the school year so that my mom could work), was more of a "let's see what we have in the pantry and whip something up...or order pizza!" kind of cook.  The control freak, ahem..planner in me, needs a bit more structure...otherwise, we'd be eating cereal and grilled cheese sandwiches (yum!) every night of our lives.  There are MANY sites (that can be found on Pinterest..my other BFF) that offer FREE! printables for organizing meal plans and grocery lists.  Eventually (when I get a color printer), I will download one of these.  In the meantime, I carry a small, spiral bound notebook in my purse and put it all in there.  Its actually quite nice to have it all in one place and always in my purse....if plans change and I need to tweak the menu (because extra people are coming over or whatever), I end up having all my lists with me and handy!  

Ok.  Here we go.  Here is my menu plan for this week. Keep in mind that The Teacher and I are trying to drop a bit of padding so all of these dishes are between 300-400 calories per serving!  I will post each day's recipe throughout the week.

BTW..One of my New Year's Resolutions is to use my crock pot at least 1-2 times per week...so, this week anyway, my menu plan includes 2 tried and true slow cooker recipes!!

Monday:  Slowcooker Chicken Enchilada Soup (this is awesome because I can cook extra chicken and pull it out to be used on Thursday!)

Tuesday:  Slowcooker Split Pea Soup

Wednesday:  Mixed greens salad with dried cranberries, goat cheese and grilled shrimp

Thursday:  Mexi-Chicken Lasagna (using the extra chicken I poached on Monday!)

Friday:  Left overs or Eat out night!

Shopping List:

What I already have on hand:                                    vs.  What I need to buy:

3 large onions                                                                    3 any color bell peppers

celery                                                                                 2 cans red fat/sodium cream of

canola oil                                                                           chicken soup

minced garlic (in a bottle)                                                  1 10 oz can diced tomatoes with

4 chicken breasts (in my freezer)                                      green chilis

chili powder                                                                       1 14.5 oz can diced tomatoes

shredded cheese (I buy big at Costco and freeze)           1 10 oz can enchilada sauce

15 oz can black beans                                                       pepper jack cheese

10 oz bag frozen corn                                                        mixed salad greens

goat cheese (I also keep this in my freezer)                      bag of dried split peas

dried cranberries                                                                raw shrimp (big enough to grill)

ham (left over and frozen from the holidays)                     1 can red fat/sodium cream of

1 med carrot                                                                       celery soup

salt/pepper                                                                         whole wheat tortillas

parsley

1 quart chicken stock (freezer)

Italian seasonings

I really, really try to create menus that use (mostly) what I already have on hand.  I'm a big fan of buying big and then freezing for multiple uses and I'm lucky enough to have the freezer space to accommodate.  I also really, really try to make things that will create enough left overs to use for work lunches later in the week.

Here is today's recipe:

Slowcooker Chicken Enchilada Soup:

In your slowcooker, combine:  1 can of (drained) black beans, 1 can of diced tomatoes, 10 oz bag of frozen corn, 1/2 chopped onion and 1 chopped green (or any color) bell pepper.  Place 4 chicken breasts on top of this.  Next, combine 1 can enchilada sauce with 1 can cream of chicken soup and about 1-1 1/2 Cups of milk and pour over the chicken.  Cook on high for 4-6 hours.  Remove chicken and set aside 2 of the breasts for use later in the week (you can shred it now, since its easier to shred when hot and it will save you a step on Thursday).  Shred the remaining 2 breasts and return to the slowcooker.  Give a few zuhzhes with an immersion blender if you like a creamier consistency..or don't if you like it more broth-ie.  Ladle into bowls and top with pepper jack cheese.  

One of the things I love best about slowcooker..ah.. cooking?? (that sounds weird) is the fact that you can put it all together the night before and put in your fridge until morning.  Take it out, plop it in the cooker and turn on.  Voila!  Dinner is ready when you get home.  That makes for one happy mama!

Sooo...what are you having for dinner this week????

~Bean

Hello There..an Introduction

Hi there! 

My name is Bean...and this is The Pastiche Puggle.  To be quite honest, it was really difficult to come up with a name for this blog that a) made sense to me; b) reflected what, I think, the nature of this blog will be; and c) wasn't already taken!  I have many interests and a (kind of) short attention span so this little piece of the blog-o-sphere will serve as my place to explore different things, thus the "pastiche".  Additionally, it will give me a place to post some pictures of my family in order to update members of our extended and far away family who are (gasp!!) not.on.facebook!!!! ;)  And now, introducing:  

The Cast of Characters:

The Bean:  (That's me..yes, in my pajamas)

The Teacher:  That would be my husband.  Interests include:  Hockey (he's from Canada after all!), Beer (again, he's from Canada), DIY projects (thank GOD), Science-y stuff (he's a Biology teacher after all), and our children (hands down the best.dad.ever)  We are 10 years married and the poor man is subject, each and every day, to the whims of my fancy.  Poor.Poor.Man 

The Diddle:  7 (almost 8!!) year old soccer star, running machine and all around super kid.

The Nugget:  4 (almost 5!!) year old sensitive soul, with a penchant for dance parties and snuggling.

TimBit:  The Puggle...who, ironically, is a bit of a "pastiche" (aka; hodgepodge) in her own right.  

Here are some things you should know about me:

• I use a LOT of exclamation points...and yes, its how I talk too.
• I have a tendency of making up my own words...I'm a Speech-Language Pathologist in my work life so have a passion for words and language..not to mention kids with special needs...you can bet there will be posts related to this.
• I'm in constant battle with the scale...grrr....I'm hoping that this blog might help hold me accountable...so I can finally be skinny, um...healthy ;)
• I'm a bit of a control freak...which will explain why some of these posts will relate to organizing...life, clutter..you name it.  
• In my fantasy life I am the host of my own HGTV show...trying to make things beautiful and homey on a budget!

Alrighty...enough of that.  We will have plenty of time to get to know each other this year.  Stay tuned tomorrow for Meal Time Monday
...until then, I leave you with these gems*...

* btw, I totally got this idea from something I saw on Pinterest!
See you tomorrow!
~Bean