Meatless Monday Menu Planning

I cannot sing the praises and benefits of menu planning enough.  It's one of MANY things I am grateful to my mom for sharing with me when I moved out and started on my own.  Even as a "single lady", I planned my menus.  And now with a busy family of 4, it is INVALUABLE. If you don't menu plan, I encourage you to try it for a month and see.  You will save money on groceries (no more impulse buying and coordinate with weekly grocery specials for future menus), save on sanity (no more panic/dread "What the heck am I gonna make for dinner tonight" when you're already exhausted and at your limit) and expand your culinary boundaries by being aware of what you're eating and not falling back on fast food to save the day.

I have a few tips to make planning easier:

1. I try planning out an entire month using one resource (a favorite cookbook, my recipe box, a favorite cooking website, Pinterest).  I have planned the last four months of our family's menus almost exclusively off of Pinterest recipes (follow my recipe board at Pinterest) with no repeats. Better Homes and Gardens and Taste of Home are great resources loaded with easy, family friendly recipes.

2. Coordinate with your grocery shopping schedule and plan only a week to two weeks in advance. For example, I usually sit down on a Sunday night before a Friday payday (which is when I grocery shop) to plan the upcoming two weeks.  I have a calendar template in Word for each month and I include special events, meetings and practices, etc. that would affect our dinner schedule.  I usually leave one day a week empty just for "whatever" dinner days, or if something comes up and I need to reschedule a planned dinner. Make your menu flexible for your family!

3. Pick special nights of the week, ala "Meatless Mondays","Mexican Mondays", "Taco Tuesdays", "Pizza Fridays", to help plan more effectively.  It allows you to narrow down your recipe search so it's not so overwhelming.  I am including our July Meatless Monday recipes in this post!  In the fall and winter, I designate Sundays as crock pot days. In the summer, I leave a few days blank to use what we receive from our CSA.


Here are 4 of the KrausHouse's Meatless Monday recipes for July that are easily appropriate for August, as they use summer seasonal veggies in most. (I don't have a 5th, because our wedding anniversary was one of the Mondays this month!)

HODGE PODGE VEGGIE FRITTATA

Like most CSAs, our early bags included a lot of greens.  I am thankful that I can now sing the praises of greens, as they were previously an untouched area of food for me prior to joining our CSA.  Greens are incredibly healthy and I always look for new ways of preparation with every bag.  For this recipe, I had a few leaves of hodge podge greens left (swiss chard, kale, spinach) along with the regular stock of veggies in the drawer, and I was looking for a way to use them all.  Frittatas are like quiche, without the worry of a crust.  You do need a frying pan that is oven safe however, as it begins cooking on the stove top and then is transferred to the oven to bake for a short time.  Use whatever veggies you have stored up in your fridge and follow this basic frittata recipe.

ZUCCHINI BOATS

-Enough zucchini to feed your family;  for 2 adults and 2 kids in our family, I used 4 zucchini

- jar of spaghetti sauce

-several cherry or grape tomatoes

-fresh or shredded mozzarella

-fresh basil leaves

-Cookie sheet with rim

*Preheat oven to 375*F

1. Cut zucc in half length-wise.  Scoop out (and discard) just the seeds in the middle, leaving most of the "meat" of the zucc. 

2. Cut tomatoes and fresh mozzarella balls in half.

3.  Spread in just enough spaghetti sauce to fill cavity where seeds were removed.

4. Layer on halved mozzarella balls or shredded mozzarella cheese, then tomatoes and finally torn or chopped basil leaves.

5. Place zucchini boats on the baking sheet and place in pre-heated oven.  Bake approx. 25 mins.  Keep a close eye on them for the last 5 minutes to see if sauce and cheese are bubbling. Remove from oven and serve!

BAKED PORTABELLO MUSHROOMS

I love portabello mushrooms for Meatless Mondays.  They are a hearty veggie replacement for burgers and are very versatile!

Follow this recipe; straight from my Pinterest recipe board!

EDAMAME PROVENCAL

This was my "daring" recipe of the month.  It's full of flavor and I love olives, so it was an easy choice.  My kids did ok with it, but chose to pick out the super-brined olives, which was fine.  They love edamame! When I first made it, I told them it was lima beans (which they both LOVE) and haven't had any complaints since.

I hope these recipes provide the kick-start to your menu planning endeavors.  It really is one of the smartest family management decisions you can make! If you have any other questions about getting started menu planning, ask away! I'd be happy to help in any way :) GOOD LUCK!!!

Summer's Bounty; Now What Do I Do With It?

Although the new and improved raised bed version of the  KrausHouse Green Acres is slowly coming to life (due to 1. late planting; 2. record-setting heat and drought; and 3. maybe NOT quite the quality of soil as advertised by the establishment from which we ordered), we are still finding ourselves knee deep in the bounty of fruits and veggies that is Summer thanks to our CSA.  I've been trying my best to find new and unique recipes for the summer staples of the garden.  But sometimes you've gotta just go with the tried and true favorites which bring back the BEST of memories of summer's past.  I'd like to share a "tried and true" family favorite and a newly discovered "go-to" with you in hopes you'll find them helpful in making the most of your summer bounty!

SWEET AND SOUR CUCUMBER SALAD

The first recipe makes me smile just thinking about it.  It says "summer" to my taste buds more than anything in the world.  It brings me back to my grandma's kitchen, cook outs and hot days. A batch of this salad rarely makes it more than three days in our house. This recipe has been in my mom's side of the family for generations; as I am sure some version of it is in most families of Eastern European descent.  Most of those probably include this salad with sour cream, but my family's does not.  It's light, cool and easy!

Ingredients

-1 med. to large cucumber
-1/2 bulb candy onion or other sweet onion
-1/3 c. sugar
-1/2 c. rice vinegar*
-1/2 c. apple cider vinegar*
-1/2 c. olive oil
-1 tsp. - 1 tbsp. celery seed (add  desired amount for your taste)
Pinch of salt
Glass or ceramic container
Mandolin
Food Processor

*I like to use a blend of vinegars because rice vinegar isn't a strong as others and balances nicely with the apple cider. If you like a little more bite, use all apple cider.  If you'd like very mild salad, use all rice.

1. Using a peeler, peel the skin off of the cucumber.  Thinly slice the whole cucumber using a mandolin slicer.  If you don't have a mandolin, thinly slice the cucumber using a knife.

2.  Slice bulb onion into pieces that will fit in to the feeder tube of your food processor.  Process the onion using the slicing disk for your food processor.

3.  To make dressing, combine sugar, vinegar and oil in a glass bowl and whisk until sugar has completely dissolved.  Add in desired amount of celery seed and pinch of salt. Even though I don't like celery, I LOVE celery seeds in this.  Gives it an extra je ne sais pas! Put cucumbers and onions in glass or ceramic serving bowl.  DO NOT USE PLASTIC as it will react with the vinegar in the dressing.  <YUCK>.  Pour dressing over the cucumber and onion.  Mix in dressing until it covers all of the cucumbers and onions.

4. Cover and refrigerate for at least 2-3 hours before serving.  The longer it sits, the better it tastes! ENJOY!

OATMEAL AND FRUIT CRUMBLE

(Adapted from Oatmeal Apricot Squares recipe)

Here's my new discovery that was born out of slight desperation.  Aren't all great discoveries usually made that way?  I had a TON of cherries sitting in my fridge and I needed a quick and easy dessert.  I consulted my cooking Bible, The Taste of Home Cookbook; All New Edition. Side note: If you have a family member/friend who is getting married, just starting out or learning to cook, YOU HAVE TO BUY THEM THIS COOKBOOK! It has the most comprehensive and extensive collection of recipes with easy and common ingredients.  Ok, so I checked the index for "Cherries" and found a recipe for Oatmeal Cherry Bars.  I checked the ingredients and found I had everything already on hand.  One big difference though, the recipe calls for preserves or jellies for the middle filling for the bars.  I had FRESH cherries.  Jump in to modification mode! I followed the recipe exactly,  but layered in fresh fruit instead and found that it makes a much better crumble than bars!  VIOLA'! A quick, easy and inexpensive way to use ALL kinds of fresh fruit from your summer bounty!  I have made it with three different fruits already - cherries, blueberries and apricots.  When I made it with apricots, I added in 1/2 c. of shredded coconut to the crumble mix and it was DELISH!

Ingredients

-Fresh fruit of your choice: blueberries, cherries, apricots, peaches, strawberries, etc.- cut up into halves or quarters for layering

-1 c. all purpose flour

-1 c. quick cooking oats

-1/2 c. packed brown sugar

-1/4 tsp. salt

-1/4 tsp. baking soda

-1/2 c. cold butter, cubed
Square baking dish
Preheated oven to 350*F


1. Combine all the dry ingredients in one bowl and mix thoroughly.

2. Cube butter and add to dry ingredient mixture. Create the crumble by cutting in the butter.  I have an antique pastry blender that I use to create the crumble. If you don't have a pastry blender, use two knives to cut in the butter.

Using my pastry blender

3. Cutting in the butter is a bit of a process and by far the hardest part.  You want the mixture to look like this when you're done.

4. Pour half the mixture into a square baking dish and press down lightly.

5. Prepare and cut fruit of your choice to layer on top of the crumble mixture.  Spread out fruit evenly throughout the top of the mixture.

6.  Pour over the remaining crumble mixture and spread evenly across the top of the fruit layer.

GET ME IN THE OVEN!

*Before putting the crumble in the oven, you can add some variation to the topping.  Sprinkle brown sugar over the top and spread out 4-5 pats of butter on top for a crunchy, brown sugar topping.

7.  Put in preheated oven (350*F) and bake for 40 mins.  

I'M DONE!!!!

8. Serve immediately, maybe with some vanilla ice cream?! or store covered in the refrigerator for up to 4 days...if it lasts that long ;)

If you try either of these recipes, let me know you they turned out for you! Enjoy SUMMER'S BOUNTY!

Forever Young

Remember that Rod Stewart song?  I love it.  I launched a fevered campaign in high school for it to be our class song. I failed. And sadly enough, the MHHS Class of 1991 is stuck with a Bad Company song.  I thought it was perfect for a graduating class...now it seems perfect for my children.  Especially Sweet Pea. She's entering Kindergarten this fall. She's always been an easy-going, agreeable kid. And so far, I think I have successfully kept her appropriately "young" for her age. I have staved off the mind-numbingly annoying Disney sitcoms; we still enjoy "Jake and the Neverland Pirates", "Doc McStuffins", "Phinneas and Ferb" and Nick Jr.  She is blissfully unaware of Bieber; still falling asleep to her "Tangled" soundtrack. When I ask "What do you want to wear today?", the answer is usually, "Whatever Mom, you pick it out." I also know that a lot of this is due to the fact that she is the older sibling and I still, somewhat, have the final influence in her choices. 


But CHANGE has already started.


I listen to Pop radio in the car.  Sweet Pea's had some favorites over the last couple years, but mostly due to what we're listening to on the iPod.  But lately, "Call Me, Maybe" and One Direction have produced "Hey Mom, can you turn up this song?" from the back seat.  Wait? What? It's not like I don't enjoy these songs.  But I don't exactly belt them out at top volume when they come on the radio.  That reserved exclusively for Bon Jovi.


And recently, Jim's aunt brought Sweets a present...an outfit from Justice.  Every trip to the mall brings a small prayer as we walk past that store, "Don't ask to go in there. Just not yet." 
After opening the outfit, Sweet Pea asks, "Mom, where did Aunt Linda get this?" 
I answered, truthfully. 
Response:  "Do we have a Justice in our mall?" 
Me, again, answering truthfully against ever fiber inside telling me LIE! LIE!, "Yes." 
Sweet Pea, "Well, we need to start shopping there." 
UGH.

HAPPY CAMPER with Daddy!

Last week, Sweets went to her first day camp, a sports camp. She had a ball! (Ha, Ha! I know, bad joke. But she did.) She made some new friends, one of whom is named Charlie.  I picked her up on Thursday and, of course, asked how her day was.  Well, the answer shocked me.  
"Charlie kissed me today, Mom.  On the lips."  <giggle>
Oh wait, it gets better.  
"He also kissed Sarah and said we were both his girlfriends.  But I don't like being Charlie's girlfriend if Sarah is too.  So Sarah can be Charlie's girlfriend."  Good answer.  GOOD. ANSWER. 




Don't get me wrong. I am trying to raise my daughter to be an independent, strong and self-assured young lady. But I just didn't want her growing up TOO FAST.  And I guess I have found that last summer of "Little Girl" is transitioning a little more quickly than I expected.  I was ready for it happen once she went to school, just not before.  But like most things in parenthood, NOTHING ever goes as planned.  So I reluctantly say, bring on loose teeth (already have one), shopping trips to Justice, arguments over radio play and all other assertions of independence. 


Now, if we were talking about Monkey Man...I've got a whole different story to tell.  Must be second child syndrome?! But, I'm an only child, so sibling dynamics is a whole new world to me....

Jumping for July, Birchbox!

HAPPY BIRTHDAY, DADDY!

I'm a running a little late with the Brown Box update for July.  I received my Birchbox early last week, and I LOVE EVERYTHING in it.  But things were crazy-busy at the KrausHouse last week.  We are fairly certain that The Hubs will be needing knee surgery in the near future;  he hurt it setting up our tent (seriously ridiculous, right?) as a test run for the planned camping trip for his birthday later in the week. Just hours earlier, we made the reservations to camp at Put-In-Bay, one of our favorite places to camp in the pre-kiddo days.  We haven't camping been since before we had Sweet Pea! So yeah, after the knee blow-out, we promptly cancelled our two-hour-old reservation and began panicking about how bad his knee actually was.  See, my darling dearest has had reconstruction on BOTH knees...so he pretty much knows when it's BAD. (And I'm pretty much preparing for double knee replacements in our old age ;P) That happened about 10 days ago. He just got his MRI yesterday and is meeting with the orthopedist as I type. UGH.


We suffered through the rest of the week and tried to "celebrate" his birthday the best we could at one of our favorite places, The Cleveland MetroParks Zoo.  We did have fun and it was HOT!  Throw in a Saturday of all day work for Daddy and an unsuccessful trek to the far-away flea market for some stinkin' TV trays for my next up-cycle project (which are proving to be incredibly difficult to find, GGGRRRR!), time just flew by last week!  So, here's my July Birchbox update and review!

Birchbox teamed up with Glamour Magazine this month to bring something for the 5 senses, and boy did they bring the good stuff. I was so ecstatic to get this box!!  Everything fits in perfectly with my tastes and needs.

• TASTE: "Larabar Uber" Roasted Nut Roll. Looks really tasty. Tucked in my purse for emergency snack attack. Gluten-free, non-GMO and kosher.
• SMELL: Oscar de la Renta "Live in Love" perfume sample. Another floral scent right up my alley!
• HEARING: Color Block ear buds! They fit and stay perfectly.  They are my new yard work accessories!
• TOUCH: Alterna "Bamboo Color Care UV+ Fade Proof Fluide" for hair. I have tried it both directly on dry hair for styling assistance and applied on towel dried, but damp hair.  For my hair, which is fine texture but I have a lot of it, I prefer the towel dried, damp application.  My hair was extremely soft and shiny when dried!
• VISION:  



stila lip glaze, action

• stila lip glaze in "action".  This color, along with two others, are Birchbox exclusives this month.  I love the  glitter in this glaze, which feels slightly heavier than a gloss - but in a good way.  It stays on forever!  The subtle berry undertone is flattering for all skin types and can be worn in any season.  stila is one of my favorite make-up brands and this product didn't disappoint.  I'll be placing an order for the exclusive three pack!    
• jouer luminizing moisture tint in "pearl".  I have been on the hunt for a new tinted moisturizer for the summer for light make-up days and I think I have found it! I have almost used up my sample size in the week since I received it!  It applies very smoothly and stays all day. My skin looks even and natural whether I wear it solo or apply a light layer of powder.  PERFECTION for summer!!        

If you're a Birchbox subscriber, I'd love to hear what you thought about some of the same products you received, or about the completely different products you got! I love comparing those medium Brown Boxes!                      

Sweet and Spicy Pepper Radish Relish

I love to cook. Sometimes it's with a recipe and sometimes not. I like when the "sometimes not" turns in to a new-found delight.  I made one of those yesterday while whipping up a topping for our annual Fourth of July hot dogs. I'm a bit of a snobby foodie when it comes to hot dog and sausage toppings.  Aside from my Bertman Ball Park Mustard, a CLE exclusive, I'll take the "crazier the better" sausage topper. I've even put collard greens on sausage...btw, AMAZING!  My inspiration for this latest concoction came from a beautiful bunch of radishes from our CSA (Fresh Fork Market for all you Clevelanders, if you're interested). They provided us with several recipes for serving radishes besides the traditional 'in the salad' method.  But I started thinking about turning them into a different kind of relish/pickled/sweet & sour sausage and hot dog topping.  I'm not sure under which category this needs to be filed, but I'm gonna go with Sweet and Spicy Pepper Radish Relish.  My hubby and I agree that it would be PERFECT on brats or sausages, but a hot dog is mighty fine too!  So here's my FIRST, exclusively all MINE, recipe - plus, it's super simple!

SWEET AND SPICY PEPPER RADISH RELISH


Ingredients

• 3 Tbs. chopped banana peppers, mild*
• 3 medium to large radishes, washed and trimmed
• 1 1/2 tsp. sugar
• 1 tbs. apple cider vinegar
• 1/4 tsp.  celery seed
• about 2 tbs.olive oil (for saute')

*I used mild for a more "universal" appeal for guests who may not like really hot peppers.  Normally, I would buy hot banana peppers!

Directions:


Roughly chop banana peppers and radishes.  I used my kitchen chopper from Pampered Chef. Heat olive oil in frying pan over medium heat.  Add banana peppers and radishes to the pan and saute' until radishes are slightly tender, about 4-5 minutes. While the mixture is cooking,  combine sugar, vinegar and celery seed  in a small bowl and stir until sugar dissolves.  When the radish and pepper mixture is done, add it immediately to the  vinegar mixture and stir until well combined.  Serve the relish hot or at room temperature. Store in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to a week. ENJOY!!!

*Makes enough for about 6 hot dogs

A Festive 4th

Two posts in one day...I'm on FIRE!  Not really.  This is a quick one.  I had some time this morning, thanks to Mother Nature, to get creative with my nails for Independence Day!  It's gonna be a scorcher in The CLE tomorrow, so I'm glad I got these done today.  Start with a base of red, paint a white stripe using two coats with a steady hand (I hate using Scotch tape!). I used my ring finger as my accent nail with blue sparkle.  I snipped the end off of a toothpick to make it flat, dipped it in the white nail polish and VIOLA - polka dots!  Pretty easy and painless for a rainy day with two kiddos playing around! Give it a try :)

Death, Taxes and Tupperware: A Tale of a Corny, Modern Mommy

Seriously. Don't you think?  The three constants in life.  Always there.

I had a Tupperware party this past weekend. Could that be any more suburban Mommy?  I had to laugh as I thought back to what Tupperware represented "back in the day".  As much I think I want to distance myself from the whole '50s super Mom image, the more I love & embrace it and want to put my own twist on it. Not that I'm going to start a bridge club or anything like that, but I do pride myself on having a home-cooked meal on the table  a majority of nights. And I'm also proud to say that meal is RARELY meatloaf, pot roast, spaghetti & meatballs or <any other ubiquitous American dinner>. Sweet Pea and Monkey are more adventurous in their culinary delights at age 5 and 3 than I was up until my mid-20s! I LOVE being a stay-at-home mom, but I am bound and determined to NEVER let it get boring! So bring on Tupperware....what I consider the embodiment of me as a MODERN mommy.  It's a company that is almost 70 years old and probably has the reputation of being a little corny and old-school;  but I find fascinating in its ability to change and transform into something that is still in high demand, and develop products that meet the challenges of modern day family life. I like to think my old-school corny blends in nicely with my modernity.  So, I invited the Girls to a Tupperware party + including the Dads and Kids = modern twist.  The Girls enjoyed the party downstairs, with my signature summer cocktail included, while the Boys and Kids stayed outside playing around.  And when the party was over, we all hung out and had a great Cleveland summer evening together.  Tupperware with a Twist!