Senior Year...oh my

I am amazed at the cost of things for the senior year of high school.  Hello people, do they not realize that next year we have college to worry about???  I mean really, pictures, cap and gown, announcements, all of the "goodies" they want you to buy, this is the first part of September..and yes order forms for all of that stuff has already been sent home.

At least my kiddo says, you know I think half of that stuff is stupid.  At least he has a good head on his shoulders.

Hello again, long lost blog

Geesh, I always tell myself that I am going to keep up with my blog.  I never seem to beable to do that.

I know I must be better..I promise...I will try harder.

My find at Sam's Club and Fruit and Nut bar recipe

I don't know anyone out there that doesn't like Larabars.  Ok, I am sure that there are a few.  Now usually I make my own and they are very easy.  The recipe that follows is all over the internet with a few changes here and there.

Anyways, so my find at Sam's Club today was a box of Larabars.  They were a great price too.  I only paid $15.98 for 18 bars.  In my opinion, that is a really good deal. It figures out to be .88 per bar.  There was Cashew Cookie, Apple Pie, and Cherry Pie.

Ok, so that was my splurge (good deal) for the day.....here is my recipe

Homemade Chocolate Chip Cookie Dough Larabar Like Recipe

2/3 cup whole pitted dates

1 cup pecans

pinch of salt

1 tsp vanilla

2 tablespoons chocolate chips

 

Put dates, pecans, salt in a food processor. Process until chopped up very fine. Drizzle in the vanilla. Add the chocolate chips a pulse a few times to break them up a bit. Put crumbs in the center of plastic wrap. Form a ball and then cover with plastic wrap. Roll with rolling pin until about 1/2 inch thick. Refrigerate for 1 hour before cutting into bars.

 

I have not done it yet with this recipe, but I usually use about 1 Tablespoon of coconut oil. I think this would be a great addition to the bars, and will use it next time I make them.

The Green Polkadot Box

What do I have to say about this interesting company.  Nothing but great stuff! I have been watching it for some time now.  I watched as the founding memberships came and went (I couldn't afford that price).  I watched as items were added to the website.  I even watched as some bloggers started posting that they were getting their orders.  Then I really started to look at the website.  I guess it was a thing about "once bitten, twice shy", as I had bought into a scam awhile back and I was very hesitant about any thing.

Then I started following them on facebook, and a wonderful Founding Member was offering a few free memberships.  Still I waited.  What was I waiting for?  The membership was free, the prices were great...geesh just do it already is what the little voice in my head kept telling me.  So I did, I asked (almost two weeks later) if he still had any memberships..he did, and I placed my first order that day.

The items were at least 50 cents cheaper per item from my co-op, and over a dollar cheaper then the store.  When they say 60% off, they really mean it.  Also, unlike my co-op I could order 1 item and get it, I didn't have to order a case.  So, I placed my order early in the week, had a call later that day saying that they were so sorry, an item I had ordered was out of stock.  Really, a call to let me know that one item I ordered was out of stock...who does that? That is amazing!

They customer care is awesome, that is the only word I can think of.  My items were to me in less then a three day time span.  All of the items were in perfect shape! I have noticed that they are already adding new things that we can get. 

I have decided that since the cart saves my info, as I run out of an item, or think of something I need I just add it to my cart.  I can't wait for them to start carrying fresh and frozen items.  I know, being on the East and they are on the West may make shipping alittle different, but I do believe that they will figure it out!

If you are interested in checking out the site, go to
http://www.greenpolkadotbox.com/rewardsref/index/refer/id/12437/

Menu Monday 2/6-2/10

Wow, I can't believe it is Monday already.  Nope, I didn't post a thing last week.  It was supper busy.  Needless to say, we didn't stick to the menu a whole lot either.  Oh well, at least nothing went to waste.  What we didn't eat I cooked (like made the ground beef into taco meat) or froze.  So no bigger, all is good.

On to this weeks menu, we should stick to it, as this is a much slower week.

Mon- cottage pie, salad
Tues- creamy chicken enchiladas, corn cake
Wed- chicken enchilada soup (this is tomato based the other is cream based, so they taste different, also the kiddo is getting his braces adjusted and soup is always a good way to go)
Thur - sloppy joes and fries
Fri - beef bean and potato bowl

I have to make chicken stock for the soup on Wed (I will be using the leftover chicken from the roast we had on Sunday).  I also have beef jerky in the oven drying right now as I type this.  If it turns out really good, I will post the recipe.  If it turns into puppy treats, I might still post the recipe.

As for cookies and such this week, not really sure where that is going.  I made brownies last night for the super bowl, but I have some apples that need used, so I am thinking an apple cobbler later this week.

Menu Monday

For the past few weeks it seems that we have had a bug running through our home.  I am not really sure what it is, it seems to be everywhere though.  Unfortunately we have not been eating as well as I would like, and I do believe that is helping the little bug along.  We did eat out the other night, my hubby has a bad stomach to begin with (so does the kiddo) our food had a ton of spices on it.  To say the least, my hubby has been down for the count because of that one.  The kiddo ate something different (without the spice) and he was good to go.

That said, this is a tentative menu, I am not putting days with the meals, just the meals....it really depends on how the tummies feel around here.

Matzo Ball soup (that will probably be for tonight)
Spaghetti and meatballs, salad, garlic bread
Pork Chops with Mexican Quinoa salad
Beef Tacos with Roasted Broccoli, Cauliflower, and Corn
Lemon Thyme Crock pot Chicken
Creamed Kale with Eggs, Hash browns, Bacon

I use a few menu subscriptions just to keep the ideas flowing.  Sometimes I will use one recipe from the menu..other times the whole menu.  I use it alot for sides, as that is my hard one to come up with.  As the week progresses I will add a few recipes, like for the Mexican Quinoa salad.

Goodies From the Grocery

So I decided that since I made my menu out last Friday, and my list....I should probably go get what I needed from the grocery.

I was so happy that I went today, they had organic produce marked down to about the same price as regular.  I did GREAT! 

Now if I can just get away from the sugar.  I eat way more then I need to or want to.  I have been ordering more from our co-op lately.  I decided to get brown rice syrup to see how that is.  I also found a new to me product by artisana.  These are different nut butters.  We do not eat nut butters due to peanut allergies in our family.  The problem with most nut butters is that, well they are cross-contaminated.  So I decided to order a jar from our co-op.  Hopefully a few others will too, then I can try it.  That is the only problem with our co-op, if you don't order 80% of a case, you may not get it.

Nourishing Bellies, Goal for the Year

My goal for the year is to nourish the bellies of my family with good, wholesome, homecooked, meals.  I do alot of cooking from scratch, but could always do more.

Here is the menu for our week:

Monday:
Roasted orange, thyme chicken
roasted root veggies
warm beet and orange salad

Tuesday
fried chicken livers with sage and apples
sauted swiss chard

Wed:
Leftover chicken

Thursday:
up in the air, son may have to photograph basketball game

Friday
Salsa Verde Pork
jicama slaw

Will add as the week progresses