Declutter Challenge: Week 1

The kitchen, Panty and Dining Rooms:



Begin small... with the fridge & freezer, be mindful of expiration dates and realistic about what will be eaten.  Restaurant leftovers should be eaten within three days of restaurant visit, while home-made meals could be eaten within five-seven days.
Be mindful of fruit and vegetable storage, so food can last longer. 

 Move on to the largest food storage area, DRY foods and spices expire too!

As you can see Mondays task was to clean out the fridge/freezer.  I had already taken the food off my second shelf in the fridge before I remembered to take a picture and there was no way I was going to put it back so I apologize for that.  But this task wasn't as long and scary as I thought it would be.  One thing I was SO grateful for was this fridge tip I tried a couple months back.  It made the job WAY easier!  If you are going to do the Challenge I highly suggest you do it too! - See more at: http://www.day2daysupermom.com/2013/09/declutter-confessions-week-1-kitchen.html#sthash.hLnmREQl.dpuf

As you can see Mondays task was to clean out the fridge/freezer.  I had already taken the food off my second shelf in the fridge before I remembered to take a picture and there was no way I was going to put it back so I apologize for that.  But this task wasn't as long and scary as I thought it would be.  One thing I was SO grateful for was this fridge tip I tried a couple months back.  It made the job WAY easier!  If you are going to do the Challenge I highly suggest you do it too! - See more at: http://www.day2daysupermom.com/2013/09/declutter-confessions-week-1-kitchen.html#sthash.hLnmREQl.dpuf

As you can see Mondays task was to clean out the fridge/freezer.  I had already taken the food off my second shelf in the fridge before I remembered to take a picture and there was no way I was going to put it back so I apologize for that.  But this task wasn't as long and scary as I thought it would be.  One thing I was SO grateful for was this fridge tip I tried a couple months back.  It made the job WAY easier!  If you are going to do the Challenge I highly suggest you do it too! - See more at: http://www.day2daysupermom.com/2013/09/declutter-confessions-week-1-kitchen.html#sthash.hLnmREQl.dpuf

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Yes, I do want to know what you can do for me

Will you be there when I need a shoulder to cry on?
Will you let me comfort you when you are dealing with times of crisis?
Will you pass judgement on me?


A friendship IS what you can do for me... and what I can do for you.

For years, I've wanted a lot of friends, a big group to hang out with and do things with, after-all that's what Facebook shows. I struggle when I see those images of 6,7, 8 people all arm in arm, whole face smiling, having a grand old time. I never had that. It took me a long time to realize, I don't need a lot of friends, I do need a few genuine people in my life that truly love and care about me, hope for my best, celebrate my successes, and comfort me in my failures.

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Zucchini & Sweet Potato Frittata

Ingredients

• 2 tbsp butter or coconut oil;
• 8 eggs;
• 1 large sweet potato, peeled and cut in slices;
• 2 sliced zucchinis;
• 1 sliced red bell pepper;
• 2 tbsp fresh parsley;
• Salt and pepper to taste.

Preparation

1. Heat a pan over a medium-low heat;
2. Add the oil and sweet potato slices and cook until soft, about 8 minutes;
3. Add the zucchini and red bell pepper slices and cook for another 4 minutes;
4. While it cooks, whisk the eggs in a bowl, making sure to incorporate a lot of air in the mixture;
5. Season the egg mixture with salt and pepper and add to the cooking veggies;
6. Cook on low heat until just set, about 10 minutes;
7. Finish the frittata until golden under a heated broiler.
8. Cut the finished frittata into wedges and serve with fresh parsley.

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Baby Girl

Someday I will look back on your fifth birthday and realize how small you still were, but not today.

Someday, I will look back and pray that you are only five again as I did at only one, only two, only three and only four, but not today.

Someday, I will wish back this year, this silliness, this delightful age, but not today. 

Someday, I will want to hold five-year-old you in my arms again, but not today.

Someday, I will think five is still little, but not today.

Today, I look back at the five years I have held you in my arms and see how much you have grown. I watched your tiny tears fade and your silly smile cover your beautiful face. I have heard you utter your first word, and my ears have swollen hearing every word since. I watched you take your first step, caught you when you took your first tumble, and now I run along side you to witness the athlete you are becoming. I rubbed your bald head each night and sang a sweet song my voice cracking all the while, and now I brush and braid your hair each morning and we rock out along to the radio. You had a rough start, I held you night after night, day after day, barely leaving your side until we began to see some progress, and say that first silly smile. We are truly blessed to begin to get a handle on keeping you the happy and healthy, beautiful gift from God that you are....No longer a little kid, truly a big girl, and always my baby.

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Lime Chicken (with Wild Rice & Beans)

  PLAN AHEAD MEAL

The day before you plan to eat it, grill chicken breast and cook brown rice, preserve chicken in refrigerator and soak the brown rice for about 8 hours.

Ingredients:

2 oz cooked chicken breast (Grilled)

½ cup cooked brown rice

¼ cup black beans

½ lime

salt to taste.

Directions:

Remember to Soak brown rice for 8 hours before cooking. This makes it more nutritious and much softer almost as good as white rice. Cook in rice cooker if you have one. Mix ingredients, squeeze lime on top and salt. 


This one is perfect for bulk prep (that is if you don't mind eating the same thing every day you can make seven meals of it in one fail swoop)

You can also top with salsa and Greek yogurt.

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Meal Planning

If you're new to all this, the easiest way to start is by planning a week's worth of dinners. Once you develop a routine, it becomes second nature. Here are some suggestions on how to get started.

• Consult a cookbook for tips on using leftovers. For example, use Sunday's pot roast for Tuesday's roast beef hash or vegetable beef soup.
• Plan around the basic food groups: whole grains, meat and poultry, dairy and eggs, veggies and fruits. Keep your pantry and fridge stocked with staples like brown rice and whole-wheat pasta, and common vegetables that will keep fresh for a while, like potatoes, carrots, onions and garlic.
• Cook double or triple portions to prepare extra food for the next day or so.
• Try to plan around your family's activities. Save the easiest meals, like soup and sandwiches, for the busiest days.
• Once you have a few recipes in mind, print out a blank calendar for the week, and write down meals for each day.
• Before you shop, jot down all of your recipe ingredients, and inventory your pantry and fridge to avoid buying duplicate items.
• Keep a notepad attached to the fridge, and write down ingredients as they're used up. If you're like most cooks, you tend to use the same things repeatedly.
• Don't worry about deviating from your meal plan. If you come across a good deal at the grocery store, take advantage of it. For example, if rotisserie chicken is on sale and cheaper than a whole fryer, pick up one or more and freeze the extra.• 
• Repeat your menu every two weeks for a season. Most of us don’t mind eating a meal twice a month, and when you create a two-week menu plan, you can be set for a few months. Try creating a two-week plan for the summer.
• Rather than starting from scratch each week, I have a template of the general types of foods I cook each day of the week and the number of times I use each main food. In other words each week I cook:

• 1-2 Chicken meals
• 1 slow cooker or soup meal
• 1 beef
• 1grain/pasta based meal
• 1meatless meal
• 1 Turkey/Pork based meal

• As you find recipes your family enjoys, make them core recipes that get re-used every few weeks. Try to build up about 20 of these and you won’t ever be bored with your meals.
• Protein is typically the most expensive part of the meal so if you can use less expensive cuts of meat and stretch them, it might allow you to buy organic and grass-fed rather than conventional meats.
• A basic easy recipe can taste completely different just by changing the spices. 
• Don't let the kids be picky! Encourage them AND reward them to TRY everything! Kids are required to try one bite of everything cooked before they can have more of any one food.

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Meal Planning 2

Here's MY plan!

Mondays – Meatless Monday!
Tuesdays – Beef/Turkey Meal

Wednesdays – Chicken Meal
Thursdays –Slow Cooker

Fridays – Take-out (left-overs/home-made pizza in a cash strapped week)

Saturdays – Left-overs, Soup, Salad, and/or Sandwiches

Sundays – Pork, Ham, Chicken or Fish Meal

 

I plan a month out, and repeat for 3 months (a full season).

Spring time Menu (March, April & May)

1.  Cheese Quesadilla with rice & beans
2.  Beef empanadas, with leftover rice & beans
3.  Honey-glazed chicken stir fry  
4.  Slow cooker Minestrone Soup (leftover beans)
5.  Home-made Caramelized Onion Pizza
6.  Left-over Honey-glazed Chicken Panini 
7. Tomato Basil Salmon 
8.  Bow Tie Pasta w peas 
9.  Beef Stir fry with veggies & brown rice
10. Paprika chicken & baby greens 
11. Chicken and sausage gumbo (over brown rice)
12. Ratatouille (leftover stir fry veggies)
13. Baked Eggplant
14. Beef stroganoff and sauteed asparagus in olive oil
15. Chicken spaghetti casserole; sauteed broccoli in olive oil
16. Slow Cooker Sausage & Peppers
17. Home-made Mushroom, ricotta pizza
18. Grilled cheese sandwiches and tomato-basil soup
19. Baked spiral ham, steamed veggies, baked potatoes (freeze leftovers for soup)
20. Spring Panzanella 
21. Hungarian Goulash and mixed green salad
22.  Broccoli chicken bake and salad (additional baked chicken set aside for pizza)
23.  Slow Cooker Turkey Gumbo
24. Homemade Buffalo Chicken Pizza (baked chicken)
25. Baked Potato Soup (add ham)
26. Maple Salmon with asparagus
27. Sun-dried tomato and oregano pasta with salad
28. Grilled Turkey Burgers with oven-baked veggie fries
29. Chicken fettuccine with broccoli and salad
30. Slow-Cooker Cilantro Lime Chicken
31. Pizza pinwheels 
32. Avocado, Chicken Lime Soup 
33. Baked Pork Tenderloin, baby spinach & baked veggies

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Banana Pancakes

These happen to be Paleo, refined sugar & gluten free... They also happen to be delicious. 

 { Serves 2-3 }

 1 mashed, super ripe banana

2 eggs

3 tablespoon coconut flour

Coconut oil for the pan

1/8 teaspoon nutmeg

1/4 teaspoon baking soda

1 tablespoon of ground flax-seed/chia seed [ this really, really holds the mixture together ]

1 teaspoon of vanilla

1 teaspoon cinnamon

(sometimes I add almond butter or (non-paleo) oats )

Optional: all-natural maple syrup or honey, berries,  and/or Greek yogurt

+ Directions: Toss banana & egg in food processor (I use the Pampered Chef Manual Food Processor, super easy). Add my flax-seed, cinnamon & vanilla. 

Put the coconut oil in the pan [ on low-medium heat ]. Add a silver dollar-sized amount to the pan. Let the cake set for thirty seconds [ or when the center bubbles ] & flip it! Enjoy!

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Meal Planning

1. Saves Money. Armed with a plan and a list, you only need to make one trip to the store each week, thus eliminating the opportunities for impulse purchases. You also save money by taking advantage of weekly sales to tailor your menu, avoiding duplicate purchases, and reducing the urge to order take-out.
2. Saves Time. You have to spend about 30 minutes to plan a week’s worth of meals. When you plan your meals, you can efficiently shop for groceries using your list, and you only have to shop once a week. You can spend dinner time preparing and enjoying your meal, instead of standing in front of the refrigerator waiting for a dinner idea to magically pop into your head.
3. Helps You Eat Healthier. By planning three meals a day, seven days a week, you can avoid visiting the drive-thru in the morning, abstain from a lunch hour vending machine frenzy, and resist the temptation to order from a pricey take-out dinner menu. Before I planned our weekly menu, my husband and I ate a lot of frozen pizzas and packaged frozen skillet meals loaded with sodium, or we dined at restaurants. We now plan ahead and enjoy more home-cooked meals made with fresh foods.
4. Helps Reduce Food Waste. Before I started planning my meals, I often opened a cupboard only to find three loaves of bread, two bottles of minced garlic, and an extra jar of mayonnaise. I didn’t check my pantry’s inventory before I went shopping, and I routinely picked up more bread, spices, and condiments at the store. Many times, the loaves of bread spoiled before I could put them in the freezer, and the spices and condiments passed their expiration dates before we could use them. Now I create my shopping list after looking at what I already have in the kitchen. A meal plan can also help you finish leftovers, because a refrigerator full of forgotten food wastes money.
5. Helps Reduce Your Stress. No more worries about what to have for dinner; you now have a plan. You’ll know when to pull food out of the freezer, avoid the mad rush through the grocery store at six o’clock, and most importantly, reduce the amount of money you spend.
6.  1. Make a Master List of 10-20 Meals
   Ask everyone in your family for a list of their favorite meals. Prioritize the list, highlighting foods that you can quickly prepare and meals that don’t require too many ingredients. Organize this list by category, including beef, chicken, crock-pot dishes, fish, vegetarian meals, side dishes, and soups.
   Gather the recipes and keep everything in a handy notebook or store them on your computer for easy access. You will refer to this list often when you plan your meals.
   2. Write Your Meal Plan on Paper
   I have used a blank calendar in the past, but I now use a piece of notebook paper. I list the days of the week down the left side to log my meals, and I use the right side of the paper to make my grocery list. I can then easily bring my plan with me to the grocery store.
   I plan one week at a time, but you could easily plan two to three weeks or even a month’s worth of meals. Post the plan on the refrigerator for everyone to see.
   3. Plan for All Three Meals
   When I don’t plan for breakfast and lunch along with dinner, I am more likely to skip meals or visit the drive-thru. You can make quick and easy breakfast foods and with some careful planning you can still head out the door on time in the morning. You can also use leftovers from the previous night’s dinner to prepare lunches. Make an extra serving or several extra servings at dinner time to pack for the next day’s brown bag lunch.
   4. Review Your Family Calendar
   Are you working late this week? Do you have plans to visit the in-laws for Saturday night dinner? Do your kids have a soccer game or a Girl Scout meeting during the week? Take all of these scheduling issues into consideration when planning your meals. Once you know your family’s schedule, you can plan accordingly. For example, eat leftovers for those late nights at the office, take the night off from cooking when you visit your in-laws, and prepare a crock-pot meal for soccer night.
   5. Plan Your Menu Around What You Already Have on Hand
   To get started, you need to organize your pantry, refrigerator, and freezer. Group the food in your pantry by category, including baking ingredients, canned goods, condiments, coffee and tea, pasta and rice, sauces, and snacks. Clean your freezer and refrigerator and throw out any expired food.
   Once you’ve organized the food in your home, and thrown away anything that’s expired, take inventory of what you have on hand. Plan meals around the food you already have. In addition to reducing your grocery bill, this helps to eliminate duplicate purchases.
   For example, I recently cleaned out our freezer and found some leftover cooked ham. After a quick look in my pantry and refrigerator, I realized that I had almost all of the ingredients to make ham risotto and a ham frittata. The few ingredients that I did not have went on my grocery list.
   6. Plan Your Meals Around Your Grocery Store’s Sales Circular
   Most grocery stores run their weekly sales circular on Sundays. My Sunday paper costs $2 and by planning my menus around the sales, the paper more than pays for itself.
   Recently, my store’s circular promoted three-pound packs of boneless, skinless chicken breast at $1.79 a pound. I took advantage of the promotion and updated my meal plan to include grilled chicken salad, chicken stir-fry, and white chicken chili. I also purchased an additional package of chicken breasts for the freezer to use in upcoming meals.
   
   7. Plan Your Meals Around Foods That Are Currently in Season
   You can find the best prices on fresh produce during harvest season. My menu changes dramatically from summer to fall and winter.
   For example, I have a list of meals that I generally only cook in the colder months because they might require the oven, which I try to avoid in the summer, or they are just heavier meals, such as soups or casseroles. In the colder months, many of our meals include cold weather vegetables, such as fall and winter squashes, sweet potatoes, and kale. In the warmer months, we grill several times a week and our side dishes usually include something freshly picked from the home garden or bought at a farmer’s stand, such as tossed salads, fresh fruit, and corn on the cob.
   Whatever the season, take advantage of the seasonal produce from your garden, farm stands, or u-pick farms; you won’t find those prices at other times of the year.
   8. Declare One Night “Clean Out the Fridge” Night
   If your family regularly throws away leftover meals, institute a “Clean Out the Fridge” night, where you only eat leftovers. In addition, look in the pantry for canned goods nearing their expiration dates and add them to the menu. This reduces food waste, and gives you a night off from cooking.
   9. Make a Double Batch of Your Favorite Meals: One for Dinner and One for the Freezer.
   The more home-cooked, prepared food that you have stored in your freezer, the less stress you feel when planning your menu. For instance, if you plan to have grilled chicken one night, grill a few extra chicken breasts and shred them after they have cooled. The cooked chicken stores well in the freezer and you can use it for a chili recipe, quesadillas, salads, and soups.
   I often make a double batch of enchiladas. One pan goes in the oven, and I cover the second pan with foil and stow it in the freezer. When I’m ready to serve enchiladas again, I thaw the pan overnight in the refrigerator and then bake the enchiladas for dinner. Foods that don’t freeze well, however, include cooked pasta, cooked potatoes, fried foods, milk sauces, and raw salads.

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