It's What's for Dinner

Sunday- Chicken & Biscuits I used Rachael Ray's Recipe. So good, I'm having left overs for lunch. Banana pudding parfaits for dessert.
Monday- The mister and I will be at a work function.
Tuesday- 1,2,3 and a green salad
Wednesday- Italian marinated chicken and roasted cauliflower
Wednesday- Pasta with bacon & Brussels sprouts
Friday- My favorite Kielbasa Dish
Saturday- Dinner with friends. If I'm ambitious I'll be making The Pioneer Woman's Tres Leches Cake.
Sunday- Tamale Pie and a green salad

Lately dinner has felt like a simple rotation of the same meals over and over again so, I'm trying to incorporate some new meals to this week's plan. Looking over some of my archived meal plans has been helpful. But, of course I'd like your ideas too.

Snow Days

It's been freezing here, we're enjoying the cozy family time at home though. The snow makes everything so beautiful. Turns out we desperately need new windows, most of ours are original to the house and we had ice on the insides of windows all day long. The temperature never raised above the teens today so outside play was pretty much out of the question. Besides this brief trip outside to test out the new sled.

She obviously loved it!

We passed the day tickling,  playing with play-doh, making cookies and bird feeders. We had to make the bird feeders twice since watching the birds eat and fight over the apples was such a hit. I had some old apples from the backyard trees that I cut a small hole into (to let the birds have easy access to the apple) then coated with peanut butter and rolled them in bird feed. I hung some and placed some on the ground around the yard. The apples on the ground were eaten clean, the birds just left the core and peel. 

I think the snow has given me some of my favorite pictures of the year. 

Trivial Tuesday

I've just about given up on Trivial Tuesdays but I have some tidbits I want to share and since it's Tuesday, well... this one's from you Reanna.

• I made quiche for dinner tonight. OMG, why don't I make this more often? So good and easy. Plus it's versatile, we were out of bacon but ham was just as good. 
• I ordered compostable bags for our kitchen bin. I'm ridiculously excited about this. 
• I've been stashing leftovers in the freezer in single serve portions. Great alternative to a lean cuisine for a quick, healthy lunch. Bonus points for not wasting food and giving me a chance to not be sick  of what I'm cooking. 
• Tomorrow marks day four of snow and it's 10* at out house. I'm putting out a bird feeder first thing in the morning. I feel so much better about feeding the birds now that our cat never wants to go outside.
• Pinterest is giving me a birthday party/DIY addiction. 

It's What's For Dinner

Monday- Mussels with pasta & red pepper sauce
Tuesday- Broccoli, bacon, cheddar quiche (a rollover from last week)
Wednesday- Pork chops, smashed potatoes & cabbage bake with apple sauce (another roll over)
Thursday- Stir Fry with chicken & veggies
Friday- Tortilla Pie with some kind of vegetable

Today I'm making sweet & spicy turkey meatballs and hot artichoke dip for my mom's 60th birthday party!

Sometimes it's just the little things

I was doing the dishes tonight and passing the time by thinking of all the little things that make me ridiculously happy right now.

• The peppermint foaming BBW soap in the kitchen. 
• Using Efferdent to clean my vases.
• Cleaning out the fridge, doing the dishes and having all of my Pyrex Tupperware clean. 
• Following my meal plan for the week. 
• Our new kitchen rug

Finally figuring out why everyone loves Pinterest. 

The promise that Mr. S is going to clean out the garage by February.

The kitchen finally being clean. 

The possibility of snow days.

Ordering random things that we actually need on amazon because it's such a good deal.

What is helping you get through these cold, dark days?

This Life we Live

Oh, you guys remember how not even a week ago I said how much fun 22 months is? Well, it's also maddening. Besides deciding that a pre 6am wake up is the new norm, Charlotte is whining and crying and fighting diaper changes and teeth brushing and getting dressed for the day. It's maddening. Like Apryl I think I'm pretty patient; I try to distract Charlotte with kisses and songs and games. I try to give her choices. This or that. Now or in five minutes. Unfortunately we aren't to the being able to reason with her stage yet. Sometimes I get frustrated but I don't loose my cool.
It makes me wonder what kind of full time stay at home mom would I be? Would I still be patient even knowing there's no day care to drop her off after a rough morning at home? Would we get into a good routine of outside play? Regular play dates with friends? Would I turn to the TV more to entertain her and have more time to myself? Would we snack all day? Would I feel like all I ever do is clean up, cook, entertain? Would I discover I don't miss work at all? Would I finally figure out how to budget my money and time?

Chances are I'm not going to get the chance to find out and that makes me sad. Three or four hours a day with my constantly changing almost two year old just doesn't feel like enough. I can't imagine how I'm going to feel with two babies at home. 

It's What's for Dinner

I've already messed up this weeks meal plan so here it is revamped. We have an unexpected ton of broccoli in the house so I'm trying to work that into the menu too.

Monday- Slow cooker stroganoff and cabbage bake
Tuesday- Grilled cheese & soup, broccoli with cheese sauce
Wednesday- Chicken Taco Salad with corn and my favorite tortilla chips
Thursday- Broccoli, bacon, cheddar quiche and cooked carrots
Friday- Some kind of pasta bake and (hopefully) the last of the broccoli
Saturday- Pork chops, mashed potatoes and apple sauce

Have you tried any good & quick new meals this winter?