Menu Mania

I am LOVING making weekly menus. I'm enjoying new recipes and trying for healthier options. I haven't quite mastered the "combine-different-recipes-to-create-your-own" technique yet (I'll explain later). So for now, I'm sticking to the exact measurements.

Last week's menu:

• Monday night: Monkey Bread and Sausage/Egg Quiche - I know Monkey Bread is NOT healthy but it's so delicious!! This turned out great. And it makes great leftovers for breakfast for the next few days :)
• Tuesday night: Curry Lime Chicken, Sauteed Asparagus, Wild Rice - I created the curry lime chicken idea! Lime Chicken sounded so good to me but I wanted to add something. So, with my love for Indian food....I pulled out the Curry Powder. It turned out really great! I just poked holes in the chicken, put it in a ziploc, poured in Lime Juice and Curry Powder and marinated it in the fridge all day. Then, I grilled it on the George Foreman (incredible option for single people!) and it was delicious. I also marinated the asparagus in Kraft Tuscan Italian dressing and then sauteed it in a pan over the stove. This is a great, easy, quick option that I'll definitely add to my rotation!
• Wednesday night: Cameron, Andi, and Chandler came over because Youth group was cancelled due to the snow. It was so fun to make dinner for them! (Cameron was in the kitchen too - it's impossible to keep  him out). I made Lemon Pepper Tilapia and Green Bean Bundles. Cameron and Andi brought over homemade bread and chicken and made Cameron's signature "Mayonnaise Bread Chicken". I also made chocolate chip cookies and added peanut butter. These were yummy! (I hope the snow is over because it just makes me want to bake!!) We hung out for a while and had fun as siblings with the future sib/wife!
• Thursday night: White Chicken Chili and cornbread: [Disclaimer - I don't like broth-based soups. I only like cream-based soups.] This is a winner. It's my aunt's recipe and I LOVE it! It's super quick and easy and it makes for great leftovers (I cut the recipe in half and still had it for 3 total meals and froze some).

This week's menu"

• Monday night: leftovers. I ran some errands that night (that didn't include the grocery store), so I just had leftovers. I treated myself to a workout, tanning, and relaxation since it was Valentine's Day.
• Tuesday night: I made some baked Cajun Tilapia and had it with leftover Green Bean Bundles and Wild Rice. Fish is so good and it cooks so much faster than chicken! This is the night I went to the store so I made quick dinner before I left.
• Wednesday night: Potato and Corn Chowder. This is where I learn I am not good at the combining-different-recipes technique. Let's just say...it took a lot longer than I wanted to and it only tastes okay, not excellent. It's definitely edible and I'm freezing it for leftovers (I'll probably pull it out on the random day Arkansas decides to be cold again - let's be realistic, we know it will happen in like April). So, for next time, I'll definitely stick to one recipe and hopefully it will be better.
• Thursday night: Fiesta Chicken Casserole and guacamole. Tonight I am having 2 girls over that I discipled last year. They are super sweet! I am trying out a new recipe so hopefully it will be good. What can't be good about chicken, pasta, cheese, salsa, guacamole, and chips? I'll keep you updated!
• Friday night: My great friend Christy is coming over for a girls' night so we will probably make homemade pizzas and something sweet!
• Saturday night: Burgers and Fries. Cheeseburgers are easily one of my favorite foods. I am not one of those girls that goes out to a restaurant and orders a salad. My go to food at most restaurants is a Barbeque Bacon Cheeseburger cooked medium. My favorite ones have onion rings/straws on them. YUM! (I'm salivating just thinking about it). So, this Saturday, I'll  be pulling out my George Foreman, grilling me a burger, and baking me some fries! I even have seasoned salt to put on the fries. I think this will be my favorite meal this week.

Saturday night I'm having a Wedding Invitation Assembly Party for my friend! She lives in India and won't be home for a few more weeks but her invitations need to go out Monday. So, I'll be baking a cake and hanging out with friends to get these assembled!! I'm so excited to be helping with this (and it will give me great practice for if I get married one day ;)

If you have any delicious dinner ideas, I would love some feedback! :) I'm always looking for new recipes. And, if any of these sound good to you and you want the recipe, leave a comment and I'll get it to you! Happy Cooking!!

The Nights Fly

Before moving into my apartment, I often wondered what I would fill my time with and if I would get bored living by myself. I've found this is FAR from reality. I get home from work, cook dinner, do a couple things, and before I know it, it's time to get ready for bed. (I admit, I normally get in bed around 10:00 or 10:30.This is not when I go to sleep - I get in bed and read. I like to get in bed though because it helps me relax from the day and I fall asleep better.) Anyways,  I'm finding that I don't have enough time to do the things I want to do at night. I know you're probably thinking, "go to bed later. duh!" Well, I can't do this. I like my sleep and I like to get up in the mornings to spend time with Jesus and not feel rushed getting ready. If I go to bed any later than 10:30, I will not want to get up when I should in the morning. Believe me, I've tried. Trial and error shows I need 7-7.5 hours of sleep. I've got it figured out. So, this week, my nighttime to-do list is chock full. I am going to push myself this week to get most of it accomplished (including working out every night (last week I failed at this) and still get in bed at my normal time. Last night, I did a pretty good job! After work, I ran 4 errands (including an oil change), cooked dinner, cleaned the kitchen, worked out, tanned, showered, and got in bed when I wanted to. Tonight will include, working out, cooking dinner, going to Wal-Mart and the dollar store, and a few other items from my list. This week, the implementation of true discipline is coming out full force.

[side note]: I'm a firm believer in the power of sleep. Our bodies need sleep to be refreshed and restored. I think sleep needs to be a discipline/habit that we put more emphasis on. Too many people have so much going on that they put sleep on the back burner. These people get sick more often and burned out quicker. Also, if God allows me to have kids one day, I know I won't get much sleep so I'm going to get it while I can!

Dinner Guests and Fun with Friends

 With Sunday night being my first night in my apartment, Monday night was my grocery store night. Tuesday night, I had my first dinner guests!!! One of my best friends, Megan Bertin, and her husband, Nick, came over. I loved hosting friends and practicing hospitality! Can't wait to have more and more people over as I get into a routine. When I got home from work on Tuesday, I started dinner. We had fajitas, cheese dip, and homemade guacamole. Everything turned out really good. It was fun getting used to the timing of cooking and when to start what so that everything is ready on time. Dinner party #1=success.

Fajita Chicken with Peppers and Onions

Homemade guac and cheese for cheese dip

Wednesday, I made dinner for myself. Cameron told me about a recipe for Spinach and Ricotta Manicotti and it sounded great! So, I found the recipe online and made this Wednesday night. It was super easy and pretty quick! Not much prep - the cook time was the longest part. I didn't have all the spices it called for yet so I had to improvise a bit. It turned out a little bland, but now I know better for next time!

Manicotti and Salad

Thursday night, Allie (co-worker and friend) and I headed over to our friend Sarah's house to cook and hang out! I was looking forward to this all week and it was so fun!!!! We made General Tao's Chicken (another recipe Cameron found - he is really good at finding recipes). After quite a bit of prep time (the recipe was a little hard to follow but we figured it out!), the chicken was ready! Let me tell you....this was a restaurant quality recipe! It was absolutely incredible - definitely a keeper! We talked over dinner and then Sarah got the urge to make scones (kind of like my cookie urge tonight). She made some blueberry scones and I am definitely getting the recipe from her. They were so great.

General Tao's Chicken over Rice

Week 1 of apartment life has been better than I could have imagined. I've had some sweet times with the Lord in the mornings being grateful that He provided this place. I've had some great times of Bible study at night when I'm home alone. I'm excited for next week - I'm going to start working out and getting into a more normal routine. Looking forward to this journey!!

Snowed in on Friday Night

As I type this, homemade cookies are in the oven :) This afternoon, I got off work around 1 because of the snow (it wasn't too bad but I knew it was going to get heavier and start to freeze). After about 5 hours inside, without a car, I got the urge to bake and cook. (Who am I?! It must be this goal of domesticity I have!).  I called Chandler (he took my car because it's 4-wheel drive and he'll actually drive in this stuff!) to see if he would want to take me to Wal-Mart to get the necessary ingredients for cookies. He whole heartedly agreed (I told him I would make some for him too). [Side note: I like Wal-Mart SO much better than Kroger for some reason. This will be where I do most of my shopping.] I got home from Wal-Mart, ate dinner, and finished a movie then started the cookies. I am a messy baker! Batch 1 is finished and they look great! I used a pizza stone to bake them because I don't have cookie sheets yet. I've decided I like the way they cook on a pizza stone better than cookie sheets too - I highly recommend it! Instead of plain chocolate chip cookies, I decided to add some white chocolate chips and some butterscotch chips in there too. DELICIOUS! (I just ate one - SUCCESS!) So, my Friday night is spent at home, snowed in, with homemade cookies in the oven, and coffee in the coffeepot. I could get used to this apartment life!

Chocolate Chip Cookies for Chandler