Ash of All Trades

Our dinner last night: Hawaiian Chicken and Sausage Kabobs with Pineapple, Bell Pepper & Onions All on a bed of white rice! Boy do I have the best husband ever! So now the week day cooking is left up to me and here is my menu for the week: Breakfasts: Breakfast planning is not set in stone but just an idea! Sunday: Chorizo & Eggs Monday: Chocolate Chip Pancakes, Fruit & Peanut Butter on a spoon. Tuesday:   Cereal, Fruit & Yogurt Wednesday:   French Toast & Fruit Thursday: Syrup Pancakes, Fruit Friday:   Eggs, Toast, Fruit Saturday : Eggs, Hash browns, Bacon & Fruit Sunday: Something yummy! Lunches: Again, not set in stone these are often replaced with leftovers! Except for Justin who is at work eating PB&J with an orange and chips. Every.Single.Day Monday: Grilled Cheese & Canned Soup Tuesday: Black Bean Burrito Bowls - Flour Tortilla, Black Beans, Corn, Salsa and Cheese mm mm. Wednesday: Tuna Salad Sandwiches and Ca...

So Little C decided that she would like a big girl bed.  And that she didn't want diapers. So for the last two weeks we have been redoing her room and potty training!  Now while neither one if completely done they are fully improved and fully functioning.  Her theme as shown above is owls and nature! Now this was a thrifty room makeover (and sorry but I don't have any nursery pictures on this computer!) but still expensive considering we went from crib & changing table to bed, dresser, and armoire.  We did luck out and actually gave Big C's furniture to Little C and purchased Big C a new bed, dresser, and desk from the neighbor (half of for only 9 month old furniture) LOVE IT!  Big C's room is still in progress so no pictures yet but back to Little C's room! Here we used some garland at Michael's (Buy One Get One Free) to make a unique "moulding" of sorts.  $50 and one extra garland later voila! Add in a decorative armoire with Porcelain dolls...

As many of you know our dating anniversary is New Year's Eve and on that very first date 7 years ago we went to Stadium Brewery in Aliso Viejo then watched movies at my parents house!  For a few year's after we continued going to the Brewery but once we had kids everything changed!  Every year since then I have recreated the meal Justin chose that night (and I now get every time we go) - Chicken Parmigiana - delicious! Their chicken parm is the best and I haven't quite recreated an exact version but ours is pretty good!  The important thing is that they serve it with alfredo pasta mmmm mmmm good! Chicken Parmigiana: 2 eggs 1/2 cup parmesan cheese 1/2 cup bread crumbs (seasoned) 1/2 tsp italian seasoning (if bread crumbs aren't seasoned) 1 cup flour 1.5 lbs chicken thighs or breasts Marinara or Pasta Sauce Shredded or slice mozzarella cooked pasta alfredo sauce (store bought or see below recipe) Preheat oven to 350 degrees 1. Lightly beat 2 eggs in a bowl - set aside...

For about a year now I have been itching to get a bread maker and make some homemade bread.  Well I am so loved that for Christmas I received two!  Now we will take one back and get some more awesome kitchen gadgets (like a food scale so I can track the produce we grow in our garden this year) but one we will keep and I get to make homemade bread! This past Sunday we spent some time getting to know our bread maker by making some Garlic Bread sticks .  Bread sticks only use the kneading element of a bread maker but we thought we should start with something basic!  Here is my WestEnd Bread Machine : Ahh perfect heaven! Now in preparation for using our bread machine I did buy Bread Flour and Yeast this week.  In my research I found a ton of people who say bread flour and bread machine yeast don't need to be used but others say it does so I am using the real deal!  (And for anyone else who makes bread Ralphs brand Bread Flour -unbleached - is on sale for ...

Welcome to 2011!  Here we are a new year and a new beginning.  My New Year's resolution this year is to enjoy every moment.  If 2010 taught me anything it is that anything can change in the snap of two fingers - sometimes for the better and sometimes not so much.  For 2011we have the following exciting changes: 1. Justin will GRADUATE in August (he is getting is MBA through PennState) 2. Chloee will be 4 and Caylee will be 2. 3. Caylee will potty train and move to a big girl bed! 4. We will take the girls on their first plane ride - to Pennsylvania for Justin's graduation! 5. Chloee will start Pre-K after our PennState trip. 6. Praying that I will become an aunt this year! 7. Take the girls to the snow for the first time. 8. Try to Blog 3-4 times per week! 9. Eat lots of new foods! 10. Learn how to make homemade breads in my new bread machine! 11. Finish our backyard! 12. Change churches - we are trying to go local in an effort to become more involved! ...