asparagus & ham omelette with goat cheese

asparagus & ham omelette with goat cheese

Laura is going through a phase of testing her independence. At home, it can be frustrating, but relatively easy to handle. Out at the store, however? Notsomuch. My last few grocery shopping trips were real exercises in patience. She refuses to sit in the cart and insists on walking, so you can imagine how much fun it is to push a wobbly grocery carriage with one hand and hold Laura’s hand with the other, all the while convincing her that yes we do indeed have go up the frozen foods aisle.

The only solution was that I had to stop taking her with me. Now, I’m used to going out a couple times a week (mostly just to get out of the house) so now I had to adapt to a new shopping routine, going just once a week. The forced planning has actually been good, and I’ve had to become a little more creative, using what we have on hand. Today’s lunch was the perfect example of what can happen when you realize that your sanity is more important than getting those extra few ingredients.

I had some leftover roasted asparagus, a bit of goat cheese, and of course ham and eggs which are always in my fridge. An omelette sounded like the perfect lunch! (Not to mention full of protein. You can have your creatine supplements; I’ll take eggs.) I threw together a simple salad (complete with homemade croutons!) and drizzled on a bit of my current favorite salad dressing: the Cook’s Illustrated Cobb Salad Dressing. I’m currently obsessed with this one. My friend had us over for lunch last week and made it and I cannot get enough of it. Seriously, I think I could just drink it. But I won’t. Ahem.

Anyway, my point is that I made this healthy, yummy meal and devoured it before I could even possibly have gone out to the store and come back home. Lesson learned.

asparagus & ham omelette with goat cheese
Deliciousness.

menu plan monday, still cold out there

Where is spring? Why am I still lighting fires in my wood stove? I don’t expect to be out there in my flip-flops, but I’d love a day out of the 40s. I want to bring my grill back up to the deck and start cooking some lighter meals!

Anyway, I have several new recipes I plan to try out this week and a couple of super-easy dinners. I was thrilled to go to a Trader Joe’s over the weekend and I picked up a jar of their curry simmer sauce. I used to love it, so I am excited to try it again. It’ll make for a super easy dinner (even if I don’t get around to putting the curried chick peas in the slow cooker). Here’s what on the menu at Chez Carol:

For more menu ideas, visit Organizing Junkie’s Menu Plan Monday feature.

menu plan monday: snowy spring edition

You wouldn’t know it from the way it looks outside, but it’s the first full day of spring today! We have some snow out there that is actually starting to accumulate — yikes! Maybe that trip to the library and CVS will have to be put off until tomorrow. Anyway, it’s a short cooking week for me. I only need to plan through Thursday. That shouldn’t be too hard to do 😉

  • Sunday: Chinese take-out
  • Monday: Spaghetti with marinara, hot sausages & meatballs, tossed salad
  • Tuesday: Cheeseburgers, fries, steamed broccoli & caulifower
  • Wednesday: Margarita chicken, black beans and rice, pico de gallo
  • Thursday: Leftovers
  • Friday: no cooking
  • Saturday: no cooking

For more menu ideas, visit Organizing Junkie’s Menu Plan Monday feature.

menu plan monday: 3.6 -3.12

Surprise, surprise! We started this week with a three-hour delay from school this morning. It poured all day yesterday and then the rain turned to ice and snow overnight, resulting in a messy but beautiful morning! It’s melting fast, but the ice is still clinging to the trees.

DSC_0111

Anyway! Lent starts this week, so there will be more meatless meals, and I’m hoping to branch out and try some fish recipes as well. Last night I went out to La Puerta Azul with a friend and I had the fish tacos. They were amazing and I want to try making them at home. Here’s my exciting (ha!) menu for the week:

  • Sunday: Eggs for everyone else, girls’ night out for me 🙂
  • Monday: Pork fried rice, green salad
  • Tuesday: Sausage & peppers
  • Wednesday: Cheese manicotti with red sauce, salad
  • Thursday: Chicken marsala, broccoli, mashed potatoes
  • Friday: Cheese quesadillas, black bean soup
  • Saturday: Leftovers

For more menu ideas, visit Organizing Junkie’s Menu Plan Monday feature.

menu plan monday 2.27-3.5

Even though we got about three inches of snow overnight, the day is warming up nicely and I’m starting to feel a bit more energetic and creative. Spring is so close! This is a pretty easy week cooking-wise. I’m excited to try the chicken enchiladas from the new issue of Woman’s Day that came in yesterday’s mail, though. Hopefully they’ll be a hit with the boys. I love enchiladas, but rarely make them. This recipe is easy and seems like it’ll be a crowd-pleaser. I’ll let you know!

Here’s my tentative (as always) menu for the week:

  • Sunday: Spaghetti with meat sauce (leftover makeover), salad
  • Monday: Chicken enchiladas (new recipe), black bean salad
  • Tuesday: Hot dogs, creamy chicken & wild rice soup, fruit salad
  • Wednesday: Italian-style meatloaf, baked potatoes, broccoli, salad
  • Thursday: Leftovers
  • Friday: Take-out
  • Saturday: No cooking – Blue & Gold Banquet

For more menu ideas, visit Organizing Junkie’s Menu Plan Monday feature.

gloomy day

gloomy day

I should be happy it isn’t snow, but this cold, rainy day is not doing much to inspire a good mood! In fact, it has me feeling a little grouchy. And hungry. Why is it on days like this I want to do nothing but eat? I should be worrying about how to burn belly fat, not how to make blondies without eggs (since I really don’t feel like heading out in this weather to get them). Maybe I should make something yummy, but warm and nourishing, like a big pot of red lentil soup. (I love this recipe… but still not as exciting as blondies!)

Anyway, I do have to come up with something for dinner tonight. Suddenly the boys don’t like tacos (what???), so I think the turkey tacos are off the menu. Maybe they’ve just forgotten how good they are! Worse comes to worse… there’s always peanut butter & jelly 😉

menu plan monday

Another week, another menu! This week I have the luxury of being child-free for a day (at least while the boys are at school). Tomorrow Laura will be at her grandma’s, so while I fully intend to indulge in a little “me-time” (since I finished all of my cleaning today!), I also plan on doing a little freezer cooking to get myself ahead. I’m going to give FishMama’s red sauce a try, prep a bunch of taco meat, and I plan on cooking up some chicken and then making stock. We’ll see what else I manage to make. I’m not going crazy. Remember: it’s a rare day “off” for me! But it doesn’t hurt to put in a little time while I have the time, to lend me the time when I don’t have the time. If you follow 😉

  • Sunday: Out (Indian buffet)
  • Monday: Chicken & broccoli pizza on WW crust, green salad
  • Tuesday: Grilled cheese sandwiches, vegetable soup
  • Wednesday: Spaghetti & meatballs (slow cooker), green salad
  • Thursday: Creamy chicken and wild rice soup, salad
  • Friday: Turkey tacos, black bean salad
  • Saturday: Leftovers

For more menu ideas, visit Organizing Junkie’s Menu Plan Monday feature.

raising adventurous eaters

I feel very lucky to have children that are not particularly picky. Don’t get me wrong — they’ve gone through some seriously picky stages, but I’ve continued to request they try three bites of whatever-it-is. Jake has been a great eater for a while (though not always — there was a time when eating a plain piece of grilled chicken was the equivalent to torture). Noah has also started to come around and lately they’ve been especially receptive to new foods.

Drew’s mom offered to take Laura for some grandma-time and who was I to say no to that? So we thought that perhaps we could convince Jake and Noah to go to try Indian food since our local restaurant offers a buffet on Sunday nights. Jake was really excited about it, and Noah needed a little convincing (but not much). So we headed down to the Red Hook Curry House for dinner, hopeful that they would at least find something they’d enjoy. We’d explained that sometimes Indian food looks a little… well, let’s face it — it doesn’t always look all that appetizing. I could eat it every day of my life, but some of the dishes aren’t so pleasing to the eye.

At any rate, they enthusiastically took a spoonful of this and a spoonful of that. We all sat down and I nervously watched them take their first bites of what was for them an exotic new cuisine. Although I cook a lot of Indian-inspired dishes at home, they’ve never been interested in trying any of them. Until now… Although they didn’t love everything they tried, they certainly had their favorites. Noah couldn’t get enough of the Tandoori chicken and the chana masala (chickpea curry). He also ate his weight in Nan, I think. Jake loved the shag aloo (spinach with potatoes), the vegetable biryani, and the eggplant fritters. He also like the chana masala a lot. (Squee!!! Guess what’s going on next week’s menu?)

Noah wanted to be called “Tandoori Noah” and after sucking the bones dry, I think that nickname is fitting!

1st time eating Indian food

Jake loved just about everything he tried (except… go figure… the Tandoori chicken). Mulligatawny was another of his favorites.

1st time eating Indian food

For dessert they enjoyed some glob jaman and a cup of chai. I was thrilled that the night was such a huge success! There were no scrunched up faces and no resistance to try new foods. It’s taken a little encouragement and persistence, but I’m happy to see my boy expanding their culinary horizons and not fearing the unknown.

menu plan monday: 1.6-1.12

Good Monday morning! Here we are at the start of another week, though this one looks like it might be free of any major snow storms. Wouldn’t that be something? Here’s this week’s menu plan:

  • Sunday: Date night for me & Drew. Pizza for the boys.
  • Monday: Turkey bolognese, whole wheat spaghetti, green salad
  • Tuesday: Soup & sandwiches
  • Wednesday: Chicken, rice, veggie
  • Thursday: Burgers, sweet potato fries, cole slaw
  • Friday: Leftovers
  • Saturday: Take-out maybe?

For more menu ideas, visit Organizing Junkie’s Menu Plan Monday feature.