Week 3 Menu

Week 3 Menu

Monday – Baked Western Omelet

(http://www.theseasonedmom.com/baked-western-omelet/)

Tuesday – BLT Chicken Salad

http://tastykitchen.com/recipes/salads/blt-chicken-salad/

Wednesday –  Chili Baked Potatoes

http://addapinch.com/cooking/chili-baked-potatoes-recipe/

http://addapinch.com/cooking/weeknight-black-bean-chili-recipe/

Thursday –   Grill Out: Pork Chops, Potatoes and Pepper and Onion

Friday -  Dr. Pepper Pulled Pork Sandwiches (with Coleslaw)

http://www.raininghotcoupons.com/crock-pot-dr-pepper-pulled-pork/

Saturday –   No cook day: Eat Out or Leftovers

Sunday –  Baked Ziti (with salad and bread)

(See attached picture)

Grocery List

4 Yellow Onion

1 Red Onion

 2 Large Tomatoes

2 Green Pepper

1 Red Pepper

Chives

Lettuce

10 potatoes

1 can crushed Tomatoes (16 oz)

1 can black beans (16 oz.)

16 oz. Ziti Noodles

2 jars Spaghetti Sauce

Coleslaw

Chicken Breast (1 ½ pound)

Bacon (13 slices)

Ground Beef (2 pounds)

Pork Chops (1 per person)

3-4 pound Pork Loin Roast

Eggs (12 eggs)

Milk

Sour Cream (2 cups)

Ham (8 oz)

Italian Bread loaf

Shredded Cheddar Cheese (1 1/2 cups)

Shredded Pizza Cheese (2 bags)

Shredded Mozzerella

12 oz. Dr. Pepper

Home Ingredients

Seasoned Salt

Mayo (1/2 cup)

BBQ Sauce

Minced Onion

Lemon Juice

Black Pepper

Olive Oil

Sea Salt

Garlic (3 cloves)

Worcestershire Sauce

Cumin

Chili Powder

Dried Oregano

Rub for Pork Chops and Roast

Dried Basil

Week 2 Menu

I love everything about fall - pumpkin spice lattes, pumpkin desserts and fall decorations! When it comes to planning menus in the fall I also have to plan for harvest time. My husband farms with his family and they will be working hard this week harvesting the rest of our corn. I am not much of a farm hand but I try to help out by making dinners for when they finish their work in the field. This week I have combined some of our family favorites with a few new recipes. I hope you enjoy!! 

 

 

Week 2 Menu

Monday – Fried Rice with Chicken & Egg Rolls

http://www.fivehearthome.com/2013/08/28/easy-fried-rice/

Tuesday – Baked Potatoes with Broccoli Cheese Sauce

http://eat-to-death.blogspot.com/2015/03/baked-potatoes-with-broccoli-cheese.html

Wednesday –  Biscuits and Sausage Gravy (with scrambled eggs)

http://en.paperblog.com/the-best-homemade-sausage-gravy-810863/

Thursday –   Chicken Cordon Bleu Casserole (with bread)

http://tastykitchen.com/blog/2012/07/chicken-cordon-bleu-casserole/

Friday -  Grill Out: Steak, Salad and Twice Baked Potato

http://www.the-girl-who-ate-everything.com/2010/06/ultimate-twice-baked-potatoes.html

Saturday –   No cook day: Eat Out or Leftovers

Sunday –  White Chicken Enchiladas with Green Chili and Sour Cream Sauce (with refried beans)

http://www.sixsistersstuff.com/2011/12/white-chicken-enchiladas-with-green.html

Grocery List

Carrots, grated (2 cups)

Lemon Juice

Potatoes, 1 bag

Head of Lettuce

Green Onion

Chicken Broth (2 cups)

Sesame Oil

Soy Sauce

8 Flour Tortillas

1 8 oz. can diced green chiles

1 can Refried Beans

Panko Bread Crumbs

16 oz. roll sausage

Steak

Bacon

Deli Honey Ham (1/2 pound)

Chicken (9 cups)

1/4 pound thin sliced baby swiss cheese

Shredded Cheddar Cheese (2 cups)

Shredded Monterey Jack Cheese (2 cups)

Sour Cream (2 cups)

Buttermilk Biscuits

French Bread

Frozen Broccoli Florets

Frozen Peas

Frozen Egg Rolls

Home Ingredients

Eggs

Minced Garlic

Rice (5 cups)

Butter

Flour

Milk

Dijon Mustard
Salt

Smoked Paprika

White Pepper

Ground Sage

Onion Powder

Garlic Powder

Seasoning Salt

Dried Parsley

Salt

Pepper

Dried Cilantro

Chili Powder

 

Week 1 Menu

Menu Freebie

I have decided to share my weekly menus/grocery lists. I am hoping that sharing my menus might make things a little easier for other families.

 

 

Here are few helpful hints about how I plan my menu: 

 

1. I have usually plan six meals to be made throughout the week. I include a "No cook" day which can be used for eating out or having leftovers. I enjoy eating out and I look forward to one night when I don't have to do any preparations. Feel free to move your "No Cook" day to the day of the week that fits your family best. 

 

2.  I try to do a combination of complex recipes and simple meals like grilling out. 

 

3. I always plan a meal on Sunday nights that is good for leftovers because both my husband and I take our lunch to work. Then I rotate meals that will have leftovers (example: lasagna, meatloaf, etc) with one-shot meals (example: steaks on the grill, pancakes, etc). Monday might be a leftover meal and then Tuesday would be a one-shot meal, etc.

 

 4. I have included the links to the recipes that I found online. I have also attached a picture of my own personal recipe if it is on a recipe card.  

 

 

Here are few helpful hints about how I plan my grocery list: 

 

1. I organize the ingredients by location in the grocery store. I shop at Fareway but hopefully they are grouped in a way that will work in any grocery store. 

 

2. The list ONLY reflects what I need for these recipes. You might need to add other items. Note: I include the total amount of the item for the week. For example, if two recipes call for chicken broth I put the total amount of broth I need for the week (8 cups divided between 2 recipes).

 

3. Home Ingredients - I have included a separate list of items that are commonly found in kitchen pantries. Check this part of the list quickly to see if you have all these items. 

 

 

 

I can't figure out how to embed a word document into my blog so I just copied and pasted it in. I hope you enjoy!! 

Alicia :) 

 

Week 1 Menu

Monday – White Chicken Lasagna

(http://tastykitchen.com/blog/2013/01/white-cheese-and-chicken-lasagna/)

Tuesday – Pancakes and Eggs

http://rachelschultz.com/2013/08/12/old-fashioned-pancakes/

Wednesday –  Asian Chicken Wraps and Egg Drop Soup

http://www.cupcakediariesblog.com/2013/08/asian-chicken-wraps.html#_a5y_p=892910

http://www.gimmesomeoven.com/egg-drop-soup/

Thursday –   Little Cheddar Meatloaves (see attached picture)

Friday -  Grill Out:  Steak, Potatoes and Pepper and Onion

Saturday –   No cook day: Eat Out or Leftovers

Sunday –  Burrito Bowls

http://www.iheartnaptime.net/burrito-bowls/

__________________________________________________

Grocery List

Green Onion (garnish)

2 White Onions

1 Yellow Onion

Lettuce (1 head)

Shredded Carrots

Potatoes (1 per person)

1 Green Pepper

2 Red Pepper

Fresh Parsley (optional garnish)

Cilantro (optional garnish)

Tomatoes (optional garnish)

Avocado (optional garnish)

1 can Creamed Corn

1 can black beans

1 can corn

1 can (14.5 oz) diced tomatoes

Chicken Broth (8 cups)

Lasagna Noodles

Rice (1 cup)

General Tso’s Sauce

Teriyaki Sauce

Chow Mein Noodles

Sesame Oil

1 (4 oz) can diced green chiles

Tortillas (Large)

Salsa (1/3 cup)

Chicken (4 cups)

Steak

Hamburger

1 Shredded Cheddar Cheese

2 Shredded Mozzarella

1 Grated Parmesan

Ricotta Cheese (2 cups)

Sour Cream

Frozen Spinach (1 package)

Home Ingredients

Butter

Flour

Salt

Pepper

Milk

Dried Basil

Dried Oregano

Baking Powder

Sugar

Eggs
Vanilla

Corn Starch

Ground Ginger

Garlic Powder

Olive Oil

Taco Seasoning

Chili Powder
Syrup 
Ketchup
Mustard
Brown Sugar
Quick Oats

Update at the Williams' House

 

A lot has happened here since I last blogged. The end of my school year was awesome!! I especially treasure my time with my family! I love this picture of me and girls at the Mother's Day Tea at their church. 

I also like this picture because it shows a pretty accurate picture of my teeth! That's right...my teeth. In May I noticed that my 2 small baby teeth were feeling loose (you heard that right...I still have baby teeth)!! My dentist recommended we do some ortho in preparation for my bridges in December. So...on the first Monday of summer I got braces!!

 

It has been quite the adjustment! I only have them on the top teeth but it is still tricky learning how to eat with braces. I am thankful they are for short term! 

The next big thing we have been up to is giving our house a facelift. We started by ordering shutters and windowboxes. 

They came white in color and so I had to decide what color to use as an accent. We had just repainted the foundation to a color called "Resort Tan" by Sherwin Williams. I decided to paint the shutters and flowerboxes the same color.

 

They took two coats of paint but I was very happy with how they turned out. But I thought they didn't match the front door very well. So we painted the front door a fun color!

We chose Drizzle by Sherwin Williams for our door color. I am very happy with how they turned out! 

I had a lot of fun filling my flower boxes with new flowers! The people at Earl May gave me great suggestions. They said to use a thriller (tall one), filler (bushy type one that will grow side to side), and a spiller (one that comes over the edge). I think they turned out great!

 

Summer also means it is time for car shows! This year we left super early at 4 AM to get a spot on Grand at the Good Guys car show in Des Moines. It was worth it but boy I was tired!!

Summertime also means more time to try new recipes. Tonight I made homemade Breakfast pizza. It was delicious!! Hopefully my next post won't be six months from now!

Spring has sprung...I think

Well a couple months have passed since I blogged and a lot has happened in the Williams' household! Here is a recap of the big happenings at our house!

1. Arizona

In January we headed to sunny Arizona to go to the Barrett Jackson Car Auction with Jeff's cousin Curt and his wife Kris. It was so nice to feel the sunshine and warmer temps!

One of the highlights of the trip for me was having another Holiday Starbucks! When we stopped one morning at Starbucks they still had all the holiday flavors. Maybe the warm temps make the holiday flavors less popular there! This morning I had an egg nog latte...so yummy!

Here we are at the car show. It was such a cool experience to be with Jeff at his 9th Barrett Jackson Car Auction. There were really cool cars there! I really enjoyed it! We also stayed one night with Jeff's aunt Mary Ann. We went out for Mexican and had a wonderful night!! It was great seeing her!

2. Losing Bailey

February brought one of the hardest months of our life. We realized that Bailey was struggling keeping food down and we thought maybe we needed to adjust her diet. After having her bloodwork done we realized her kidneys were shutting down. it was absolutely heartbreaking to face the fact that we were going to lose our dog. We decided to give Bailey an IV to help her kidneys work. This treatment gave us another 10 days with her and we think helped her to feel less toxic as her kidneys shut down. We slept at the farm on an air mattress for a week while we gave her the treatments. It was so emotional!

She was such an amazing patient and did everything we asked. It is so hard to believe she is gone. We miss her everyday. We loved her so much!! We got new license plates for Old Yeller to honor our pookie!

3. Florida Getaway

At the first part of March we took a quick weekend getaway to Florida. We went to Universal and Downtown Disney. Jeff's parents and sister's family were there too. It was so fun to hang out together!!

4. Entertaining

Now that we have a new dining room table I have been excited to have people over for parties! I have hosted 2 so far this year! My first party was a Valentine's brunch for some girlfriends!

I tried a new recipe which was Panera Spinach Artichoke Egg Souffles...they turned out great. With the souffle I made strawberry/donut hole kabobs. I also made a yummy strawberry smoothie for the drink! We sat and chatted for a couple of hours and it was awesome! I absolutely love having girlfriends over and I love brunch!! Win Win!!

My second party was a birthday party for Evie, Jeff and Mom. Evie and Jeff both turned 35 and Mom turned 67. Jeff smoked a prime rib that was to die for. I made twice baked potatoes and corn. Mom brought salad and Evie made rolls and dessert! It was a wonderful night. I love having my family in my home too!!

That gets us about caught up! Now come on Spring and get here!! 

Our Living Room Remodel

Before the remodel...

 Jeff bought our home in 2002. He remodeled most of the house and created a beautiful home.

Last year when we were married I moved in and added some of my girly touches...but just couldn't decide how I wanted to decorate. 

 

One day when we were talking Jeff and I discussed the idea of taking out the wall between our living room and the front porch which we never used. 

 

So we decided to move forward with our remodel.

Jeff did most of the demo to the front porch. We discovered there wasn't any insulation in the walls which was why it was always so cold out there. 

 

While Jeff and our contractor worked on the wiring, insulating, and dry-walling the new front room I was picking out paint colors. 

I ended up choosing the dark brown color in this picture for our new front door. The color is from Sherwin Williams called Windsor Greige.  I didn't end up using the navy, yellow, or turquoise but that officially became my color palette.

 

Bailey was such a trooper through the whole remodel. Since she is blind we were nervous about the change in the room but she has adjusted beautifully!

Once the wall was out and the new door was installed Jeff painted all the new trim white.

 

We kept our furniture in the same spots until the new room was complete hopefully making the transition easier for Bailey.

Jeff's mom came and painted the front room one day before we got home. It was a huge help! The front door is full strength Windsor Greige. The walls in the front room are 50% strength of that same color. In the current living space we painted the walls 25% strength of Windsor Greige. I think using the same color throughout really tied things together.

 

You can see that Bailey really got used to the furniture in new spots once we moved everything. This is the best picture I have of the new space. We have two larger ottomans that we use in front of the couch for Bailey to sleep on. When you come to visit those are usually put away.

 

We had two big furniture purchases. One is this new table and chairs from Pier 1. I really wanted a round table since we have a small space. It does extend to an oval which will be nice for bigger groups. 

My favorite purchase is probably our Turquoise Media Credenza. Jeff got a new tv (which I love) and I got this adorable TV stand. I love it because it holds all our components and baskets for blankets and books.

We feel so excited to share this new space with all our friends and family! Please come visit soon!!!