Babies, Italian, and Apple Pie

It's baby season! ...meaning there have been several new little ones lately. The kiddos and I wanted to visit, but I remember being a new mom. After the overwhelm of visitors in the hospital, it is relieving to be home alone with a snuggly, smooshy new baby. The last thing I wanted to do as a new mom was plan dinner and cook! We decided to make a few quick trips to provide a meal and take a peak at some sweet newborns!

After a lot of searching, I found a great meal to deliver to the new mommas. A little more gourmet than I am used to cooking, but these lasagna roll ups from Cooking Classy were easy and portable for our visit. They feature a cheese mixture and homemade meat sauce all rolled up into individual lasagna noodles. This is also a great freezer meal to make in bulk and for gatherings!

I also made my favorite Scrumptious Apple Pie from The Pioneer Woman! I made this pie for a local fall festival apple pie contest and it was amazing! No fancy spices used...just the amazing flavor of juicy apples. I use a mix of Braeburn and Granny Smith to give it a delicious balance of sweet and tart. 

If you have never gambled to make a pie crust from scratch, Sylvia's Perfect Pie Crust is easy and well...perfect! 

The best part is we got to meet little Makayla and Hampton and were overjoyed to offer some help and good food!

Kitchen Re-org!

I've had it! I've been stuck inside and still recovering from the holidays. I was ready for a change...off to the kitchen for some massive reorganization!

It all started with the kiddie cabinet....

BEFORE / AFTER


Another drawer makeover...


The infamous utensil drawers!
BEFORE / AFTER




Spice cabinet makeover...
AFTER


And...lastly, the pantry!
BEFORE (after pic coming soon)

And it's my second cycle of meal planning. A few days got shuffled in the last plan, but overall it went great...I didn't have to grocery shop last week, we saved $$$, and my pantry is not overflowing with unnecessary food! Here is our next two week plan!

Wed 1/19: Chili
R 20: Quesadillas
F 21: Free day (work)
S 22: Spaghetti w/ garlic bread
S 23: Butter chicken w/ rice
M 24:Meatloaf
T 25: Grilled Chicken Pineapple
W 26: Easy Stromboli
R 27: Thai Honey Chicken w/ veggies
F 28: Quiche
S 29: Mole style porkchops
S 30: Peruvian Roasted Chicken w/ potatoes
M 31: Chicken Sausage, Sweet Onion, and Fennel Pizza
T 2/1: Bleu cheese Stuffed Chicken w/ Buffalo Sauce

How was your Christmas?!

Our Christmas tour went great!

E is really at an age now to enjoy and start to understand what Christmas is about. He's still proclaiming 'Merry Christmas!' and talking about 'Baby Jesus!' This was also C's FIRST Christmas!! I know she'll won't remember much, but we all had a great time celebrating with family and friends...and Santa was good this year ;o)

Our white Christmas!

With the New Year already here, I am back to reality. E started school again after Christmas break and DH is back to work (...the moms never get a vacation...LOL!). I am on the journey to lose 10 more pounds and get to my goal weight! It is all starting with more cooking at home and meal planning. I am FINALLY going to do this and stick with it (no, really I am this time)! I'm just adding daily dinner plans to iCal (every other Tuesday) and grocery shopping every 2 weeks (Wednesdays). Here is my current biweekly plan...

Wed 1/5: Pepper chuck roast in crockpot with steamed broccoli

Thurs: Pineapple BBQ Chicken and rice
Fri: Chicken Enchiladas (DH's favorite)
Sat: Out to eat for Kelly's BIRTHDAY!
Sun: Deli Sandwiches or pizza
Mon: Greek Turkey Burgers w/ steamed veggies
Tues: Easy Pork Chops w/ potatoes
Wed: Oven Chicken Cacciatore w/ crescent rolls
Thurs: Meatloaf and potatoes
Fri: Herb Chicken Noodle Soup
Sat: Lasagna pasta
Sun: Crockpot Zucchini Lasagna
Mon: Pizza
Tues: Chicken Parmesan Bundles

TA DA! And the best part is...no more procrastinating and suffering over what to make for dinner. I have all the ingredients at my fingertips!