Day One - about me :)

Yesterday I was happy to get in and out of the grocery store without too much spent - mostly just produce and things to restock.  I then 'splurged' because Lowe's Foods is having a 25% off Meat Sale.  So I stocked up mostly on ground meats to have for the fall - we have a lot of chili in this house.  But I've been inspired to pre-make some meals and put them in the freezer.  So I hope to do that soon...when an abundance of time presents itself perhaps.

In trying to get better about being on my blog, I thought I'd accept this 30-day challenge I found via Pinterest.  It seems pretty interesting for sure!

Some basic things about myself:

Eating at home...

...despite our best efforts, this was quite the week.  We didn't eat at home as much as we'd like, but we did try.  It is hard when you're having work done on the house to not want to get out and eat out - simply to get out!  But this week is going to work better.  I'm thankful for a tip I read about meal planning, which is nothing more than common sense, that suggests you write down your calendar before you decide what to make/buy.  Sometimes I'll plan a week of meals, and then realize I've got 5 days of lunches with folks and am away 3 of the nights. 

Catching up...

Slowly approaching the 'lazy dayz' of summer...wherever those might be?!  As I get to hang out with kids and young people - who are free during the summer - these months are generally quite busy.  But I'm looking forward to a few days in the mountains with the hubs come back to school.  My mom always liked this commercial...and now I can see why (facetiously of course!)  hehe!

As its been quite the summer...I've not had the chance to keep up with cooking/blogging about my meals.  Though I've been blessed with time to putz around spice stores and chat over cooking many times over.  I've also found two things:

- Waking up so early, I tend to have time/energy to put together a meal for later before I even think about breakfast

- Cooking in the summer is hard!  You don't want to turn on that oven as it gets so hot in the house.  And I seem to find soups and baking up squash easier to do in the fall - but summer meals seem to be harder.  Would love your suggestions. 

Here comes summer!!

I'm so excited for summer to come - even though it will be crazy busy and hot! 

Things I'm especially excited about:  visiting family in Chicago, new Food Network Star series, early morning runs, late evening light, exploring mindless novels, farmers markets, and unanticipated adventures!  We never know what Carolina summers will bring - but usually they get pretty hot!!

Bruschetta Chicken
(this is obviously not my recipe..but similar to what I did)

Recently I recalled days of yore (last summer I think...) when Mike and I got really into bruschetta - the sweet combination of basil and balsamic vinegar - love it!  I'm a wimp when it comes to raw onions/garlic, so I generally don't put too much garlic in ours...but I love the way it marinades up so nice. 
I gathered inspiration from O'Charley's 'Bruschetta Chicken' I had with some girlfriends shortly before graduation a year ago.  So for dinner recently, I grilled up some chicken sans marinade, though that would have certainly jazzed it up some!  Once off the grill, I sliced my piece in half and put in a pad of goat cheese, closed it up to let it get gooey melty... Layering tomatoes, basil and sauce over it - it was a perfect summer treat.  Paired it with steamed broccoli and bread to sop up the sauce!


LOVE THIS!  Sweet Corn and Mango salad
This is a fun new blogger I've found - Jenna Weber - who is a professional cook/blogger for PBS.  What a fun job :)  Anyways - she posted this recently and it sounded divine.  I love veggies in the summer and this is a fun play with fruit mixed in... I made it once and am making it again for this weekend.  I tweaked just slightly - adding in avocado and some

balsamic vinegar (honey balsamic).  I also leave out the red onion.  Didn't try the jalapeno last time (forgot it was on the list!), but will this go round...pic to follow.  
It is great!  Avocados oxidize fairly quickly - so it doesn't look as fresh after a day.  But still tastes great.  I've gotten into the 'Mango Chunks' from Trader Joe's - let em defrost in the fridge and it saves you from cutting into a mango (which for me are never ripe!)  Adding cilantro also adds another fun layer of freshness...give it a try!

Butternut Squash and Black Bean Tacos; Apricot Breakfast Crisp

I'm gleaning lots of cooking inspiration from my new "smitten kitchen" cookbook - found here.  It's great - you should definitely look into it! 

Butternut Squash and Black Bean Tacos with Goat Cheese - adapted from smitten kitchen
I started with what looked like a really yummy option - spaghetti squash and black bean tacos with queso fresco.  I ended up somewhere a little different... 

Rather than spaghetti squash - I used butternut squash, cubed up and roasted with olive oil, salt and pepper.  Instead of queso fresco, I used some herbed goat cheese on hand.  Finally, I used some grilled chicken we had as well.  Could obviously be left out, but didn't want it to go to waste! 

Butternut Squash and Black Bean Tacos with Goat Cheese - adapted from smitten kitchen
3 pound butternut squash - cubed and roasted with 1 T olive oil, salt and pepper to taste
1 can black beans, rinsed and drained
1 yellow onion, diced 
2 T lime juice (juice of 1 lime)
1 t chili powder
1/2 t ground cumin
1/2 t ground coriander
1/2 t course salt
1/4 c. stock (chicken, vegetable)
flour tortillas
4 oz. goat cheese

Saute onion in a frying pan with 1 T. olive oil.  Add lime juice, spices and salt.  Mix in black beans and stock and allow to simmer for 10 minutes.  Assemble taco as desired, and enjoy!

Apricot Breakfast Crisp - also from smitten kitchen

I followed this recipe to the letter - except a only mixed one tablespoon into the fruit rather than two.  It smelled so good as the sugar melted into the butter and as it baked in our oven.  The way Deb describes this crisp sounded so desirable - something that can be scooped out in the mornings onto a bowl of yogurt.  As she writes, you can substitute the apricots for peaches and plums - any 'stone fruit'.  I think blueberries would have been nice to mix into the crisp as well... I'm sure the world is your oyster.
Super easy - and so wonderful!

Good "first week" :)

I had a very enjoyable experience meal planning.  Though it was a bit humorous. 

I woke up Monday morning - as planned - and pulled out all my supplies: cookbooks, computer, paper and pen.  I then...stared at it all.  Where to start?  I remembered the list of categories I'd come up with (i.e. mexican, pizza, sandwiches, etc.) and that helped.  First memo to self: Use the week to browse and start marking things to try - so come Monday I'll have a list to work with.

I came up with: Monday - Spaghetti Squash and Black Bean Tacos (from Smitten Kitchen); Tuesday - Margherita pizza (also from SK); Wednesday - at work, so leftovers for Mike; Thursday - Grilled Shrimp; Friday - Grilled Chicken and Lemon Basil Pasta.  Though I knew four meals was a bit ambitious - I figured something would flow into the weekend.  I also slipped in another SK recipe - Apricot Breakfast Crisp! Mmm. 

As I set off to shop - I realized I left my wallet (and whole purse!) down at work.  Fortunately, for me, Mike had happened to leave his wallet at home.  So I was not put off track!

I had a few things on my list I can only get at Trader Joe's (why is that - only certain stores have the very specific things you want?!), so I went there.  It was probably my most enjoyable TJ experience ever.  Coming with my list, I wasn't distracted by all the fun stuff they're always putting out.  But I realized that their produce is WAY cheaper than Lowe's Foods where I usually go.  For example - at Lowe's, Organic Gala apples are $2.79 a pound. At TJ's, 2 pounds is $2.49!  They didn't have spaghetti squash, so I went with butternut squash.  A huge one for only $1.99!  Mike loves when I go out and "save" him money.  And who can argue with a grocery store that provides free coffee and a lovely sample every time of day :)

I must say - it has been an easier week thus far knowing that meals are planned out and I have most of the ingredients I need.  Wish I'd started this sooner!

Meal Planning Basics

I decided January would be my "figure out how to do meal planning" month.  I have gotten recipes organized, been reading through food blogs, but haven't done much on meal planning. 

I stumbled upon a website today that seems like pure gold to me.  Surprisingly - its as simple as setting aside TIME to think through your week.  Each week.  Admittedly its been a hard six months trying to figure out what my routine will be for work.  But I've managed to cook and grocery shop, so clearly I have time to plan meals. 

I am looking forward to putting this into practice.  She suggests categorizing meals.  I came up with the following we like: burgers, soup and sandwiches, pizza, chicken, Mexican (tacos, enchiladas, burritos), Pasta, Vegetarian, Seafood, leftovers and eating out.  I'd also add Ethnic food - particularly Thai and Indian.  Obviously its hard to do all of these in one week - but perhaps a two week rotation?  

I've also found these gems on Pinterest.  This is a good visual of planning out what the meal is and what the required ingredients are.  And this is a really neat tool I saw last summer while visiting at one of Mike's co-worker's home.  She had gone to the extra work of putting the recipes on the back.  It was very impressive!

Again - this all takes time.  And today has been the perfect day to sit in a chair and watch West Wing while hearing the snow and ice fall around our house.  Like I said - January was my target month.  And I am just now getting to this - but I haven't sat much since we entered 2013.

As I mention a goal for the month, I'll also share that my hope for this year is to build some foundations.  Learn to make some basics and take one month to focus one thing.  I think it takes a few weeks to get the hang of something and hard to do too much at once.  I haven't decided on February - or the rest of the year - but its nice to have a start with meal planning. 

I think the best time for me to take this on is Monday mornings.  Usually this is my day to be at home and get to the grocery store and do some laundry.  At least it was before Christmastime hit.  So here's to getting back to that routine - y'all can keep me accountable!