Menu Plan Monday: 12/09/2013

This week is going to be a little crazy.  We are open for Christmas tours here at the museum, so I'll be working a few days this week.  My morning sickness has returned, unfortunately, which makes eating, and being productive hard.  I also have two baking orders for friends due early next week, so I need to get my dough made up so it has some time to rest before baking it up this weekend.  But luckily I got all our Christmas decorating done this past week, including the tree (pictures to come), and I only have one more gift to buy, and I'm all done shopping for the year (except grocery store trips).

Breakfasts: Pop-Tarts, Bagels with Butter or Cream Cheese

Lunches: Leftovers, Sandwiches

Dinners:

Sunday - Crock-pot Pork Roast with Baked Potatoes

Monday - Leftover Pork with Baked French Fries

Tuesday - Italian Shake and Bake Chicken with Jasmine Rice

Wednesday - Crock-pot Lasagne with Garlic Foccacia Bread

Thursday - Leftover Lasagne and Bread

Friday - TBA, maybe out?

Saturday - Museum Christmas Dinner :)

For more AWESOME Menu Plans, visit Org Junkie!

Menu Plan Monday: 12/02/2013

Well, I wasn't sure my pregnant self was gonna make it, but I did.  My husband Joe and I hosted Thanksgiving for our families, a total of 11.  Then on Friday my sister took me Black Friday shopping and to a delicious Cracker Barrel lunch.  Saturday other than a couple of errands, I was finally able to rest.  My toes were like little sausages after the prior two days, so some time in the recliner with my feet up was just the ticket!  Good thing since Sunday was my first baby shower!  We are so blessed to have the amazing friends that we do!  And we were definitely blessed with all of the wonderful baby presents we received!  This week things settle down a little bit.  I go to the Dr. on Tuesday, so we'll get to hear the heartbeat again - Yeah!  We open for Christmas here at the museum at the end of the week, and I plan to get our apartment decorated for Christmas before then.  But, other than that, this week is gonna breeze right by, hopefully :)  Here's what's cooking this week...

Breakfasts: Bagels with Cream Cheese or Butter

Lunches: Leftovers or Sandwiches

Dinners:

Sunday - Leftover Turkey and Fixings

Monday - Leftover Turkey and Fixings

Tuesday - Leftover Turkey and Fixings

Wednesday - Crock-pot Lasagne with Garlic Bread

Thursday - Leftover Lasagne with Garlic Bread

Friday - Homemade Pizza

Saturday - Stromboli

Extras: Homemade Chocolate Chip Cookies

For more AWESOME Menu Plans, visit Org Junkie!

Tempt Your Tummy Tuesday: Crock-pot Pot Roast with Carrots, Potatoes, and Onions

 

 Pot Roast is a delicious and simple meal that only requires a few minutes of prep before it cooks slowly all day in the crock-pot and is ready and waiting for you when you get home from work.  Here's how I do Pot Roast...

1. I like to put my potatoes and carrots underneath my roast, so all those good meat drippings get on them.  So first I wash, peel, and dice my potatoes and carrots, and add them to the crock-pot.
2. After your roast is thawed, salt and pepper it on both sides, and brown it on both sides in a little oil.  Then add your roast on top of your vegetables in the crock-pot.
3. In the same pan I browned the roast in, I saute a sliced onion in a little butter.  When the onion is softened, I add about a cup a beef broth to de-glaze the pan.  Then I pour the onions and broth over the roast in the crock-pot.
4. Cover with the lid and cook on Low 6-8 hours, or until your roast is done.
5. I serve my roast sliced with a large helping of potatoes and carrots, with a little broth drizzled over it all -- yum-o!

*Refrigerate any leftovers

*Leftover over broth makes wonderful gravy to top a leftover sliced pot roast sandwich, just sayin' :)

Linked to Homemade Mondays, and One Project at a Time!

Menu Plan Monday: 11/25/2013

This week is going to be very crazy.  I baked some pies for some friends, in exchange for some cash money to spend on all the great Black Friday deals this week!  I having Thanksgiving this year for my family and my husband's; there will be 11 of us.  Since I'm 21 weeks pregnant, I'm going to try and do as much as I can prep-wise on Tuesday and Wednesday, so hopefully I don't fall asleep in my mashed potatoes on Thanksgiving ;)  I kept things pretty simple on the menu as well...

Breakfasts: Bagels with Cream Cheese or Butter

Lunches: Leftovers, or Sandwiches

Dinners:

Sunday - Beef Pot Roast with Carrots, Potatoes, and Onions in the Crock-pot

Monday - Leftover Potatoes, Carrots, and Onions with Baked Chicken Breasts

Tuesday - Homemade Pizza

Wednesday - Out :)

Thursday - Turkey Day!  Smoked Turkey with all the fixings, and pie!

Friday - Leftover Turkey and sides

Saturday - Leftover Turkey and sides

For more AWESOME Menu Plans, visit Org Junkie!

The Fall Deep Clean: Day #4

The last area to clean was the kitchen, which we broke into two days since you really need a whole day just to scour the floor, which my wonderful husband did for me :)  We moved out the appliances, and vacuumed and mopped behind them.  Everything on the counters got moved and scrubbed under.  Windows washed, curtains washed and dried, and the light globes washed as well.  Here are the results!

View #1 Before:

After:

View #2 Before:

After:

View #3 Before:

After:

ALDI Deals Starting 12/04/2013

Here are some of the AWESOME deals this week at ALDI...

• Weds. 12/04 ONLY: Cattlemen's Ranch Fresh Beef Stew Kit 2.2 lbs $7.99 ea
• Naval Oranges 4 lb bag $1.99 ea
• Blackberries 6 oz $0.89 ea
• Mixed Pears 4 pk $1.49 ea
• Grapefruits $0.39 ea
• Pomegranates $0.89 ea
• Mandarins 3 lb bag $2.69 ea
• Simply Nature All Natural Spiral Sliced Ham $2.99/lb
• L'oven Fresh Cheesecake Sampler 9" 40 oz $8.99 ea
• Friendly Farms Milk gallons $1.99 ea
• Baker's Corner Holiday Morsels 10 oz $1.99 ea
• Baker's Corner All Purpose Flour 5 lb bag $1.39 Limit 6 per customer
• Baker's Corner Sugar 4 lbs $1.49 ea Limit 6 per customer
• Goldhen Eggs Grade A Large $1.29 ea Limit 6 per customer
• Excitemint Soft Peppermint Puffs 10 oz $1.69 ea
• Kerry Gold Red Leicester or Swiss 7 oz $3.29 ea
• Life Savers Hard Candy or Gummies 6.8-7 oz $2.49 ea
• Choceur Dark or Milk Chocolate Covered Almonds Wine Topper 4 oz $1.99 ea
• Coastal Cocktails Holiday Mixers $4.99 ea
• Work Zone 18 pc Tool Set and Carrying Case $19.99 ea
• Work Zone Tool Organizer $7.99 ea
• Frosty Fern $4.99 ea
• 5" Easy Orchid $9.99 ea

For more information about shopping at ALDI, visit their Homepage!

ALDI Deals, Starting 11/24/2013

Here are some of the AWESOME deals this week at ALDI...

• Potatoes $1.99/10 lb bag
• Yellow Onions $0.79/3 lb bag
• Celery $0.79 ea
• Sweet Potatoes $1.19/3 lb bag
• Cranberries $0.99/12 oz bag
• Pineapple $1.49 ea
• Baker's Corner Gingerbread Cookie Mix 17.5 oz $1.69 ea
• Baker's Corner 6-in-1 Baking Sprinkles Jar 7.2 oz $2.99 ea
• Clancy's Dipped Peppermint Pretzel Stars 7 oz $1.99 ea
• Clancy's Holiday Tortilla Chips 14 oz $1.49 ea
• Season's Choice Broccoli Cuts 16 oz $0.85 ea
• Benton's Candy Cane Chocolate Sandwich Cremes 15.25 oz $1.99 ea
• Belmont Candy Cane or French Silk Pies Thaw and Serve 24-28 oz $5.99 ea
• Friendly Farms Peppermint Mocha Coffee Creamer 16 oz $1.49 ea
• Huntington Home Holiday Accent Rug 20x30' $6.99 ea
• Huntington Home 2 pc Holiday Towel Set $3.99 ea
• Boulder Holiday Disposable Containers 3 or 5 pc sets $1.99 ea
• Boulder Holiday Gallon Storage Bags 40 ct $1.99 ea
• Boulder Limited Edition Holiday Print Paper Towels $0.99 ea
• Kitchen Living Baking or Pastry Utensils $3.99 ea
• Kitchen Living Silicone Baking Mat $4.99 ea

 For more information about shopping at ALDI, visit their homepage!

Weekly Spending Report: 11/17-23/2013

This week I really tried to only pick up things that I knew I would need for the upcoming holidays.  As well as the things I would need to round out this week's menu plan.  Here's what I ended up with...

• Wednesday's CVS Trip: $10.08 oop, Earned $11 ECB's

• Wednesday's ALDI Trip: $13.87 oop

• Wednesday's Dollar Tree Trip: $15.24 oop

• Wednesday's Walgreen's Trip: $9.08 oop

• Wednesday's Giant Trip (no picture, just cake mix, toilet cleaner, and tortilla chips): $6.35 oop

Total OOP: $54.62 - $11 Earned Rewards = Net OOP: $43.62

Linked to Couponaholic!

The Fall Deep Clean: Day Three

Tuesday was day 3 of our Fall deep clean, and we did the living room.  Everything got dusted, wiped down, moved and vacuumed under.  The windows got washed and the curtains were washed and ironed.  We also washed and dried the futon cover and our winter blankets on the backs of our chairs.  Plus all the junk got removed.  The living room is now all ready for our holiday guests!

First view Before:

After:

Second view Before:

After:

ALDI Deals, Starting 11/20/2013

Here's some of the AWESOME deals at ALDI this week...

• Weds. 11/20 ONLY: Butterball Fresh Whole Turkey $1.29/lb (avg. weight 13 lbs)
• Weds. 11/20 ONLY: Custom Made Meals Fresh Stuffed Pork Chops $4.99/lb 
• Potatoes 10 lbs $1.99 ea
• Yellow Onions 3 lb $0.79 ea
• Celery $0.79 ea
• Sweet Potatoes 3 lb bag $1.19 ea
• Cranberries 12 oz bag $0.99 ea
• Pineapples 1.49 ea
• Beaumont Dark Chocolate or French Vanilla Hot Chocolate Mix 8 oz $1.29 ea
• Beaumont Bagged Coffee Holiday Assortment Mocha Mint, White Chocolate Chunk, or Gingerbread 12 oz $4.99 ea
• Gourmet Select Popcorn Tins Caramel Corn, Cheddar Cheese, and Butter 18 oz $4.99 ea
• Specially Selected Bite-sized Salami Original or Spicy 8 oz $2.99 ea
• Clancy's Pretzel Rings 20 oz $1.49 ea
• Clancy's Bagel Chips Sea Salt or Roast Garlic 6 oz $1.79 ea
• Mama Cozzi's Pizza Kitchen French Bread Pizzas Vegetable or 5 Cheese 9.2-9.9 oz $1.99 ea
• Season's Choice Steamable Baby Brussel Sprouts 12 oz $1.29 ea
• Baker's Corner Molasses 16 oz $1.99 ea
• Kitchen Living Cast Iron 5 Qt Braiser, or  6 Qt Cast Iron Dutch Oven, Red or Blue $29.99 ea
• Kitchen Living Cast Iron Trivet 7.5-8" Diameter $4.99 ea
• Huntington Home Christmas Roll Wrap $1.99 ea
• Huntington Home Christmas Gift Bag Set $2.99 ea
• Huntington Home Christmas Gift Tags $0.99 ea

For more information about shopping at ALDI, visit their Homepage!