Blog Frog Friday 10-29-10

I am happy to have you all here for Blog Frog Friday: a weekly stop at my Blog Frog community:-)

Today, hop on over to my pad for a conversation about a baker's out reach for help:-)

Batten Down the Hatches

No gardening this week because I am too busy cleaning up from this week's storm. It knocked over our brand new grill!! I could hardly pick it back up but the wind knocked it over!! Holy Crap! And, look what it did to our shed:

Totally blew the doors off!!!! Granted, it wasn't the most sound structure but geeeeezzz!

Cutest Bat Girl Ever!

Happy Wordless Wednesday at 5 Minutes for Mom and Wordful Wednesday on parenting By dummies!

Right?

Bone Soup Cupcakes

Last week, I volunteered to bring treats to the costume party at school. Of course:-) This is what I came up with:

I was inspired by Cookies and Cups' skeleton cupcakes. Mine didn't come out nearly as good as hers but I was happy with my presentation:-)

Blog Frog Friday 10-22-10

I am happy to have you all here for Blog Frog Friday: a weekly stop at my Blog Frog community:-)

Today, hop on over to my pad for a conversation about mental health breaks:-)

Back Inside

The cold temperatures have prompted my crew back inside:-)

Nature Center Fun

 This week, my youngest's class went to the nature center again. It is always fun watching the kids learn and explore but...sometimes....it's GROSS!!

There were bugs (real and fake)...



...and yucky pond water with creatures...

I must have looked pretty disgusted because the teacher asked me, "Best day ever?"

You know what, gross things aside...it really was:-)

Apple Pie Sundae

My MiL brought me a bushel of apples from the apple orchard. So, I spent the weekend tackling this...

...into this...

...which in turn became this:

An Apple Pie Sundae!! Vanilla ice cream with apple pie filling syrup topped with whipped cream and garnished with peanuts and Poor Man Cookie:-)

Tackling Illness

It's time for Tackle It Tuesday with 5 Minutes for Mom . This week, I am tackling my mother's illness. She had a catherization on Friday which resulted in upping her diuretic and then, discovering some issues with her liver. So, it is specialist hopping we go. Wish me luck.

Black Bean Soup

I am doing more menu planning with I'm an Organizing Junkie and finding more deals at Pick N Save for $5 Dinners and putting them together with great recipes:-)

Well, last week kind of fell apart with my mom getting a catherization. She is at home and fine now but it is really throwing me off and clogging up my schedule. This week, I am going to be running to and from 3 doctor appointments, a Girl Scout Service Area meeting, a PTO meeting, a hair appointment AND my youngest starts piano lessons this week. Pray for me!

Thank goodness Pick N Save is helping me out with my menu planning! They have beans on sale for $.89. (normally $1.09.)I bought a bunch to make Black Bean Soup. Check out the recipe below:-)

Here is everything that I am serving this week:

Monday: Spaghetti (Cleaning Day)

Tuesday: Chicken Pesto (Doctor Appointment/Girl Scout Service Area Meeting)

Wednesday: Black Bean Soup (See Reicpe Below) (PTO Meeting/Doctor Appointment)

Thursday: Leftovers (Doctor Appoitment/Piano Lessons)

Friday: Eat Out (Hair Appointment)

Black Bean Soup
Ingredients:
2 (15 ounce) cans BUSH'S® BEST Black Beans, undrained
1 (16 ounce) can reduced sodium chicken broth
1/2 cup salsa
1 Tbs chili powder
Shredded cheese (optional)
Sour cream (optional)
Chopped onion (optional)
Parsley (optional)

Directions:
Mash one can of beans with potato masher or food processor. Pour both cans of beans into medium saucepan. Add chicken broth, salsa, and chili powder. Bring to a boil. If desired top with shredded cheese, sour cream, onion, and cilantro.

Servings: 6

Cooking Times
Preparation Time: 5 minutes
Cooking Time: 15 minutes
Total Time: 20 minutes

Nutrition Facts
Serving size: 1/6 of a recipe (13.4 ounces).
Percent daily values based on the Reference Daily Intake (RDI) for a 2000 calorie diet.
Nutrition information calculated from recipe ingredients.

Amount Per Serving
Calories 390.93
Calories From Fat (36%) 140.87
% Daily Value
Total Fat 16.04g 25%
Saturated Fat 9.36g 47%
Cholesterol 36.41mg 12%
Sodium 946.53mg 39%
Potassium 987.46mg 28%
Total Carbohydrates 42.32g 14%
Fiber 14.53g 58%
Sugar 2.3g
Protein 22.1g 44%

Recipe Type
Side Dish, Soup

Source
Author: Bush's Baked Beans
Source: http://vegetablewithmore.allrecipes.com/Recipe/Recipe.aspx?nprid=146466

Recipe Cost: $6.47 ($6.07 with sale!!!)
Serving Cost: $1.08 ($1.01 with sale!!!)

Blog Frog Friday 10-8-10

I am happy to have you all here for Blog Frog Friday: a weekly stop at my Blog Frog community:-)

Today, hop on over to my pad for a conversation about caregiving:-)

Confused?

It has been so beautiful that this little guy is confused:



You are supposed to bloom in July!

Go Pack Go

As you can see...



...Packer Fever is back in our house:-)

A New Chair

This week, my recliner took a crapper. It was 15 years old so, we got our money's worth out of it. However, we were not looking forward to plopping down $700 for a new one. I hate that bulky recliner look but I love to recline. So, what is a girl to do in that conondrom? Wel, we found this little number at Steinhafel's:

It's cute. It goes well with the room. It was $265 AND it is a recliner! AWESOME tackle, don't you think?

Orange-Sesame Pork Chops with Teriyaki Whole-Wheat Noodles

I am doing more menu planning with I'm an Organizing Junkie and finding more deals at Pick N Save for $5 Dinners and putting them together with great recipes:-)

I don't know how this happened but all I have is a Fun Run and a Pampered Chef party. I have to be missing something!

Thank goodness Pick N Save is helping me out with my menu planning! They have Whole Boneless Pork Loin on sale for $1.99/lb. (normally $4.79/lb.)I bought a bunch to make Rachael Ray's Orange-Sesame Pork Chops with Teriyaki Whole-Wheat Noodles. Check out the recipe below:-)

Here is everything that I am serving this week:

Monday: Spaghetti (Cleaning Day)

Tuesday: Orange-Sesame Pork Chops with Teriyaki Whole-Wheat Noodles (See Reicpe Below) (Fun Run)

Wednesday: Bean Night (Pampered Chef Party)

Thursday: Leftovers

Friday: Eat Out

Orange-Sesame Pork Chops with Teriyaki Whole-Wheat NoodlesIngredients
Salt
1 lb whole-wheat or whole-grain spaghetti
5 Tbs vegetable or light oil
5 boneless pork loin chop 1 1/2-inches thick
Freshly ground black pepper
3 Tbs orange marmalade
6 Tbs teriyaki sauce
1 tsp sesame oil
1 bunch scallions, thinly sliced on an angle
1 cup shelled, frozen edamame
1 Tbs black sesame seeds or toasted sesame seeds, optional

Directions:
1. Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil for pasta, and cook pasta to al dente.

2. While pasta cooks, heat 2 tablespoons oil in a large skillet over medium-high heat. Season chops with salt and pepper and cook 6 minutes on the first side, 4 to 5 on the second. Remove chops to a plate and reserve, cover with foil. Add 3 tablespoons orange marmalade, a couple tablespoons teriyaki sauce and a 1/4 cup of water to the pan, bring the sauce to a bubble and combine 1 minute, stir in sesame oil remove from heat.

3. While the chop cooks, heat a second skillet with 3 tablespoons oil over medium high heat. Stir-fry the scallions and edamame a couple of minutes. Drain pasta and toss with scallions and edamame and remaining teriyaki sauce, about 1/4 cup. Sprinkle noodles with sesame seeds, if desired.

4. Slice pork or leave chop whole and top with orange-sesame glaze. Serve teriyaki noodles alongside.

Servings: 4

Cooking Times
Preparation Time: 20 minutes
Cooking Time: 20 minutes
Total Time: 40 minutes

Nutrition Facts
Serving size: 1/4 of a recipe (12 ounces).
Percent daily values based on the Reference Daily Intake (RDI) for a 2000 calorie diet.
Nutrition information calculated from recipe ingredients.

Amount Per Serving
Calories 822.17
Calories From Fat (25%) 209.16
% Daily Value
Total Fat 23.75g 37%
Saturated Fat 2.81g 14%
Cholesterol 63.94mg 21%
Sodium 1408.21mg 59%
Potassium 1044.21mg 30%
Total Carbohydrates 110.53g 37%
Fiber 4.31g 17%
Sugar 11.8g
Protein 48.63g 97%

Recipe Type
Main Course, Pork

Source
Author: Rachael Ray
Source: The Food Network
Web Page: http://www.foodnetwork.com/recipes/rachael-ray/orange-sesame-pork-chops-with-teriyaki-whole-wheat-noodles-recipe/index.html

Recipe Cost: $9.02 ($6.27 with sale!!!)
Serving Cost: $2.26 ($1.57 with sale!!!)