Ash of All Trades

Whew - it feels good to be blogging again!  These last few (well almost 6 weeks) I have been stepping in as an administrative assistant at my old job and thus things have been quite busy around here.  While I am not done helping out we should have a little reprieve and the posts should be more regular (although they probably won't be daily still).  Thank you for all the stop ins while I was away - you all are the best! Here is our menu for the week: Monday: Egg McMuffins (homemade), Mangos Peanut Butter Sandwiches, Cheez Its, Carrots, Blueberries Cheese Enchiladas, Refried Beans, Spanish Rice, Corn Tuesday: Chocolate Chip Banana Bread , Persimmons, Yogurt Egg Salad Sandwiches, Cheez Its, Apples Pasta Carbonera with Lemon & Leeks , Garlic Bread, Salad Wednesday: Egg McMuffins , Persimmons Potato Soup , Garlic Bread, Salad Tacos, Nachos, Peas Thursday: Chocolate Chip Banana Bread , Apples w/peanut butter Soup & Grilled Cheese, Pears Breakf...

     As a family we spent this past weekend up in Big Bear Lake!  We had originally planned to hike, fish, and play outside in the sunshine - except they uncharacteristically had a huge storm last week and another inch and a half of snow this weekend!  We spent the weekend by the fire, building snowmen, going on toboggan rides, and occupying a very sick two year old!  Anywho the point of this is that the cold weather made us crave warmth and our meal plan this week proves it: almost everything involves the oven which inevitably warms the home...hoping it stays "cool" this week! Breakfast: granola bars, oatmeal, blueberries pancakes, pears, eggs carrot muffins, kiwi, peanut butter french toast, apples cereal, fruit oatmeal w/craisins, milk eggs, toast, apples Lunch: egg salad sandwiches, carrots, blueberries peanut butter sandwiches, graham crackers, pears tuna, crackers, cheese, grapes, carrots chicken nuggets, carrots, app...

This week will be a little different for us as I have an obligation early in the week that will keep busy for a couple of days and later in the week we have a little special plan for some extra family time (I will share more next week after our plan is complete)! Anyways we are super excited for all of this great food! Each week I am now going to try and give you an tip on how to increase the benefits of your meal plan and hopefully to help your grocery budget shrink (unless you are already at the lowest possible point)! TIP #1:  My first tip meal planning tip is that you should really meal plan the whole week - any meals you eat including snacks.  Count out what you actually need (i.e. 5 plums, 2 heads of lettuce etc etc.).  Obviously you will have times when you cannot follow your exact plan but you should have things in  your pantry to get you through some hiccups.  Without a full meal plan you are either going to run out of food or throw sp...

A few crafts we worked on this week - and yes they are all made out of paper bags and paint! We had such a blast but cannot believe today is already Halloween.  This year is flying past us at the speed of light...we have a fun last week of soccer ahead of us and are gearing up for some fall weather (fingers crossed and prayers said) rather than the 90 degrees today.  So here is our menu for the week: Breakfasts: Oatmeal, Blueberries, Yogurt Omelette's, Honeydew, Toast French Toast, Blueberries, Yogurt Pancakes, Plums, Yogurt Cereal, Plums Granola Bars, Applesauce, Hard boiled Eggs Cereal, Applesauce, Peanut Butter on a spoon Lunches: Leftovers Grilled Cheese, Soup, Carrots, Plums Peanut Butter Sandwiches, Crackers, Snap Peas, Plums Tuna Sandwiches, Carrots, Honeydew Peanut Butter Sandwiches, Raisins, Snap Peas Sub Sandwiches, Honeydew, Chips Quesadillas, Salsa, Pinto Beans Dinners: Homemade Pizza & Salad (our annual ...

Yummy a bowl of chicken tortilla soup!  Well we aren't having that this week but we are having another great one: Albondigas (sometimes known as Mexican Meatball Soup)!  While we are hoping to have some fallish weather I think sunny SoCal is going to stay warm again this week...oh well.  This time of year is always relatively busy and we have been thankful for our meal plan keeping food from being something else we have to "deal" with - well at least thinking up meals - there is always cooking and cleaning to be done.  To everyone visiting from Passionate Homemaking - thank you for visiting!  I hope your meal planning is going well for you and hope that you can find something delicious from the list below: Breakfasts: Bagels with Cream Cheese, Honeydew Melon, Yogurt Scrambled Eggs, Blueberries, Toast with jam or butter Granola Bars, Grapes, Yogurt Bagels with Peanut Butter, Honeydew Melon, Yogurt Cereal, Pomegranates, Yogurt Pancakes, Pomegranates, ...

 I cannot believe that it is the middle of October already - this year is truly flying by.  The weather this past week was super hot (100+ degrees) so we are definitely ready for the cool down this week (to the mid 80s haha).  This week I will mix a little fall flare with some summertime BBQ since it is dark early but still warm.  Most of the recipes this week are ones we have created over time or adapted from other recipes and I will be posting more about them in the coming weeks! Breakfasts: Oatmeal, Blueberries, Yogurt French Toats, Yogurt, Peaches Pancakes, Apples, Yogurt Scrambled Eggs, Toast, Pears Granola Bars, Raisins, Peanut Butter Chocolate Chip Muffins, Blueberries, Yogurt Chocolate Chip Muffins, Apples, Peanut Butter Lunches: Egg Salad Sandwiches, Pears, Carrot Sticks Peanut Butter Sandwiches, Apples, Carrot Sticks Ham Sandwiches, Raisins, Graham Crackers Loaded Chicken Quesadillas Pasta with butter sauce, peas, peaches Chicken Nugge...

This week we will continue celebrating the Hubby's birthday since he gets a day off this week instead of last week on his actual birthday!  Above are the cupcakes we served him - all you have to do is make your favorite brownie recipe/mix and pour into muffin liners then bake for about half the time of the original recipe (the girls each picked a candle holder)! This week we will be making some delicious food and trying to stay away from the oven as it is supposed to be "warm" again - about mid 80s (supposedly).  Other than that we will keep busy with daddy's day off, library time, soccer practice, and all other things called life. Our menu for the week: Breakfasts: Oatmeal, Blueberries, Hard Boiled Egg Life Cereal, Pears, Yogurt with Jam Blueberry Pancakes, Yogurt French Toast, Egg, Apples Granola Bars, Raisins, Milk Eggs, Toast, Oranges Cereal, Pears Lunches: Egg Salad Sandwiches, Crackers, Carrots, Pears Peanut Butter Sandwiches, Animal Coo...

Monday: Breakfast: Chocolate Chip Pancakes, Blueberries, Yogurt Lunch: Ham, Crackers, Cheese, Grapes Dinner: Whole Chicken Noodle Soup, Garlic Bread (recipe to follow) Tuesday: Breakfast: Granola Bars, Nectarines, Yogurt Lunch: Peanut Butter Sandwiches, Grapes, Cucumber Slices Dinner: Bats N Cobwebs , Garlic Bread, Salad Wednesday: Breakfast: Oatmeal, Craisins, Yogurt Lunch: Tuna Salad Sandwiches, Cat cookies, Nectarine, Carrots Dinner: Green Chicken Enchiladas (recipe coming), Beans, Rice Cooker Spanish Rice Rice (recipe coming) Thursday: Breakfast: Granola Bars, Blueberries Lunch: Chicken Quesadillas, Corn, Grapes Dinner: Leftovers or Soup & Grilled Cheese (soccer practice from 5-6 really complicates dinner!) Friday: Breakfast: Eggs, Toast, Applesauce Lunch: Chicken Nuggets, Cheese, Grapes, Carrots Dinner: Hamburgers, Baked Beans, Salad Saturday: Breakfast: Omelettes, Toast, Nectarines Lunch: Sandwiches, Crackers, Fruit Dinner:  Chicken F...

The cake my sister and I made and decorated last week! Welcome to fall everyone!  My husband's favorite season is now upon us - next week's menus and going forward will probably include some soups and stews with warm baked breads.  We are loving the warm days and cool nights plus we have planted a bunch of new fall crops.  Baking is what we are most excited for around this house especially since we can do it without running the air too much!  The corn dogs we made this weekend! Here is our menu for the week: Monday: Breakfast: French Toast, Yogurt, Plums Lunch: Egg Salad Sandwiches, Peas, Apples Dinner: Gumbo from California Cookbook (one of my favorites), Garlic Bread sticks Tuesday: Breakfast: Granola Bars, Yogurt, Blueberries Lunch: Bologna Sandwiches, Carrot Sticks, Applesauce Dinner: Tostadas, Corn, Spanish Rice in our rice cooker Wednesday: Breakfast: Banana Nut Muffins, Scrambled Egg Lunch: Baked Potatoes with Toppings, G...

Monday: Breakfast: Chocolate Chip Pancakes, Blueberries, Peanut Butter Lunch: Egg Salad, Crackers, Grapes Dinner: Italian Sausage and Zucchini , Pasta, Salad Tuesday: Breakfast: Granola Bars, Clementine Oranges, Yogurt Lunch: Black Bean Burritos, Corn Dinner: Chow Mein, Egg Drop Soup Wednesday: Breakfast: Cereal, Clementine Oranges Lunch: Soup & Grilled Cheese, Plums Dinner: Steak Pasta Salad , Garlic Bread sticks Thursday: Breakfast: Granola Bars, Grapes, Yogurt Lunch: Chicken Nuggets, Carrot Sticks, Blueberries Dinner: Southwest Salad (from Family Circle magazine Oct. '11 issue) Friday: Breakfast:  French Toast, Eggs, Peaches Lunch: Peanut Butter Sandwiches, Plums, Carrot Sticks Dinner: Breaded Tilapia and Breaded Chicken, Salad, Chive Potatoes Saturday: Breakfast: Banana Muffins, Yogurt, Eggs Lunch: Hot Dogs, Chips, Carrot Sticks, Grapes Dinner: Justin's Chicken, Parmesan Rice , Zucchini Salad Sunday: Breakfast: Cereal, Plums Lunch:...

 The Hubs & I At Penn State 2011 MBA Graduation     Buggy Ride in Lancaster, PA   Homemade Banner for Big C's First Soccer Team! Thanks for hanging in there while we took a vacation then enjoyed the chaos summer wind down!  We enjoyed a great trip in Pennsylvania for the Hubs graduation!  Then enjoyed a bunch of birthday parties, baby showers, soccer practices and banner making, plus other family events!  Boy are we glad to be back to our regularly scheduled routine and so is this blog; without further ado our menu for the week: Monday:   Breakfast:  Omelettes, Sausage, Mandarin Oranges Lunch: Pasta with Tomato Sauce, Salad Dinner: Leftover Carne and Pollo Asada Tacos, Rice, Beans, Corn Tuesday: Breakfast:  English Muffins, Nectarines, Peanut Butter Lunch: Peanut Butter Sandwiches, Grapes, Goldfish Crackers Dinner: Beef Stir Fry w/veggies, Fried Rice Wednesday: Breakfast:  French Toast, Strawberries L...

Sunday:  Breakfast:  Chocolate Chip Pancakes, Blueberries Lunch: Tuna Melts, Peaches Dinner: Mama's Special Chicken, Black Beans, Corn Monday: Breakfast: Oatmeal w/blueberries Lunch: Quesadillas, Salsa, Cantaloupe Dinner: Lasagna, Steamed Zucchini Tuesday: Breakfast: Eggs, Toast, Cantaloupe Lunch: Souplantation with a Friend! Dinner: Bats N Cobwebs Pasta, Salad Wednesday: Breakfast: Smoothies and Toast w/peanut butter Lunch: Peanut Butter Sandwiches, Bell Pepper Strips, Blueberries Dinner: Pancakes, Sausage, Cantaloupe Thursday: Breakfast: Waffles, Peanut Butter, Cantaloupe Lunch: Fair Food! Dinner: Grandma's Tacos!!!!!!!!!! Corn Friday: Breakfast: Pancakes, Fruit Lunch: Peanut Butter Sandwiches, Applesauce, String Cheese Dinner: Grilled Chicken & Mac N Cheese Saturday: Breakfast: Pancakes, Fruit Lunch: Leftovers Dinner: Rotisserie Chicken, Salad, Baked Beans

This week's breakfasts and lunches are a bit quick as we have a hectic week ahead of us - heading to Vacation Bible School all week!   Sunday: Breakfast: Cheerios and Raisin Bran Lunch: Leftovers Dinner: Balti Chicken with White Rice Snacks: String Cheese Monday:   Breakfast: Waffles, Pineapple, Hard Boiled Egg Lunch: Peanut Butter Sandwiches, Goldfish Crackers, Carrot Sticks Dinner: Tostadas, Salad Snacks: Trail Mix Tuesday:   Breakfast:  Pancakes, Peaches  Lunch: Tuna, Crackers, String Cheese Dinner: Moroccan Chicken , White Rice, Cauliflower Snacks: VBS Snacks Wednesday:   Breakfast: Homemade Granola Bars (recipe to follow) Peaches Lunch: Mac N Cheese, Grapes, Peas Dinner: Bacon Wrapped Burgers, Potato Wedges, Caprese Salad Snacks: String Cheese, VBS Snacks Thursday:   Breakfast: Granola Bars, Cantaloupe Lunch: Peanut Butter Sandwiches, Craisins, Goldfish Dinner: Chicken Fingers, Cherry Tomato Salad, Past Roni Snacks: VBS Snacks, Strin...

Sunday: Breakfast: Zucchini Bread, Cantaloupe, Bacon Lunch: Bologna Sandwiches, Chips, Blueberries, Carrots Dinner: Japanese Pork Chops, White Rice, Broccoli Snacks: Trail Mix Monday: Breakfast: Raisin Bran Lunch: Quesadillas, Goldfish, Zucchini Dinner: BBQ Chicken, Corn, Baked Beans Snacks: Granola Bars Tuesday: Breakfast: Granola Bars, Cantaloupe Lunch: Black Bean Burritos, Corn, Blueberries Dinner: Fettuccine Alfredo Pasta, Salad, Garlic Bread Snacks: Trail Mix Wednesday: Breakfast: Bagels & Cream Cheese, Blueberries Lunch: Peanut Butter Sandwiches, Raisins, Carrots & Ranch Dinner: Steak & Shrimp Fajitas, Chips & Salsa, Rice Snacks: Granola Bars Thursday: Breakfast: Waffles, Cantaloupe, Sausage Lunch: Costco Pizza! Dinner: Zippy Pork Chops, Wild Rice, Grilled Zucchini Snacks: Trail Mix, Peaches Friday: Breakfast: Pancakes, Peaches, Sausage Lunch: Egg Salad Sandwiches, Chips, Blueberries Dinner: Sausage Spaghetti, Salad Snacks: Trail Mix...

Greetings all!  I realize there have been some issues with comments on my blog - I am working with blogger to resolve those and hope to have it working again soon!  Below is our menu plan for this week - it is a little different than most because the girls are having a sleep over at grandma's one night and then we are having a staycation of sorts - instead of taking the girls far we are going to do local things like the beach, movies, pool etc - my only stipulation was no cooking for at least 3 of those days!  Happy eating all! Breakfasts: Brunch at the Orange Mining Co. (Happy Birthday Bro! and thank you for choosing some great food) Chocolate Chip Pancakes, Honey Dew Melon, Yogurt Bagels w/cream cheese & strawberry jam , scrambled eggs, peaches Breakfast at grandma's - so we will probably each eat something different. Oatmeal w/raisins, orange juice, peanut butter on a spoon Pepperoni Omelette's, Toast w/jam, honey dew melon French Toast, Eggs, Blackberries ...

Breakfasts: Waffles and Strawberries Chocolate Chip Pancakes, Sausage, Cantaloupe Scrambled Eggs, Toast w/Strawberry Jam, Peaches Pancakes, Strawberries, Peanut Butter Oatmeal, Plums, Yogurt Cereal and Peaches French Toast, Bananas, Fried Egg  Lunches: Tuna on Crackers with Cheese, Carrots, Grapes In N Out  Burgers & Fries, Strawberries Hot Dogs, Strawberries, (small lunch before the 4th) Chicken Quesadillas, Corn, Watermelon Leftovers Hot Dog @ the Angel's Game Peanut Butter Sandwiches, Zucchini Slices, Kiwis Dinners: Mac N Cheese with Ham (mix a box of Kraft Mac N Cheese and 2 cups cooked ham)! 4th of July Neighborhood Potluck Party! Steak & Salmon, Twice Baked Potatoes (the easy way recipe coming)! Grilled Corn Italian Sausage & Zucchini, Garlic Bread sticks  Hamburgers, Baked Beans, Grilled Zucchini Chicken Tacos, Corn, Spanish Rice  A birthday dinner for family  Baking/Snacks: Chocolate Covered Strawberries Zucchini ...

Whew - so glad it is Monday and the busy weekend is behind us - although it was a great one!  Here are the meals I plan to make this week! Breakfasts: French Toast, Nectarines, Sausage Pancakes, Scrambled Egg, Plums Chocolate Chip Pancakes, Strawberries Eggs, Toast (w/strawberry jam), Peanut Butter Smoothies, Toast, Hard Boiled Egg Cereal, Nectarines Waffles, Plums Lunches: Quesadillas, Plums, Corn Grilled Cheese & Ham, Carrot Sticks, Nectarines Pasta with Sauce, Peas, Cherries Peanut Butter Sandwiches, Plums, Celery My Sister's Bday Lunch Bean, Rice, Cheese Burritos Ham Sandwiches, Godlfish Crackers, Strawberries  Dinners: Spaghetti, Salad, Bread Ham, Mashed Potatoes, Corn Ham & Cheese Pasta Bake , Broccoli, Bread (add ham don't do topping extra cheese) Pizza, Salad for Family Movie Night! Thai Grilled Chicken, White Rice, Broccoli BBQ Chicken, Pasta Roni, Brussels Sprouts Pollo Asada, Beans, Rice, Corn Okay I have Brussels sprouts on the me...

Happy Monday All!  Hope you enjoyed the weekend celebrating all of the wonderful father's in your life.  We had a great time celebrating a grandfather's 90th birthday and three special dad's in our lives. Here is my menu plan for this week (we are all healthy again -knock on wood) and will be presuming with regularly scheduled meals.  My oatmeal recipe is posting simultaneously to this one! Breakfasts: Maple & Brown Sugar Oatmeal with Raisins and Milk Chocolate Chip Pancakes, Cherries, Scrambled Egg French Toast, Watermelon, Sausage Cereal and Fruit Banana Bread, Peanut Butter, Grapes Scrambled Eggs, Toast, Watermelon Syrup Pancakes, Cherries, Egg  Lunches: Peanut Butter Sandwiches, Grapes, Baby Carrots Hatched Eggs, Cheese Grape Tomato Kabobs Bean & Cheese Burritos, Corn, Grapes Grilled Cheese, Salad, Watermelon Bologna Sandwiches, Carrots Sticks, Watermelon Chicken Quesadillas, Corn, Grapes French Bread Pizzas, Cherries  Dinners:...

Hello all and here's to a brand new week!  Poor Little C has been very sick since 1 AM on Saturday so this is going to be my simple menu plan with lots of crock pot meals since I don't know how long this stomach flu is going to last nor who is going to get it.  Whoever is sick will probably have the BRAT diet (Bananas, Rice, Apples, Toast, Pasta etc) and everyone else will eat what I have planned - at least that is the plan. And as I promised some folks here is how I *try* to structure our meals! Breakfasts:  Carb, Protein, Fruit Lunches: Protein, Carb, Fruit, Vegetable Dinner: Protein, Carb, Vegetable Snacks: Combo of Protein, Fruit/Vegg, Carb Breakfasts: Apple Fritters, Cherries Cheerios, Bananas, Peanut Butter Pancakes, Cherries, Scrambled Egg Waffles, Grapes, Over Hard Egg Chocolate Chip Pancakes, Bananas French Toast, Watermelon, Sausages Breakfast Burritos, Cherries  Lunches: Chicken Noodle Soup and Toast, Watermelon, Carrots Salami Sandwiches,...

Here's to a great new week folks!  We had an awesome weekend enjoying sunny California weather our beautiful garden and even pretended to be on vacation swimming and making s'mores.  Yummo! Breakfasts: Chocolate Chip Pancakes and Peaches Cereal and Blueberries Eggs, Toast w/Peanut Butter, Strawberry Yogurt Granola Bars, Milk, Blueberries French Toast and Mango Cereal & Pineapple Breakfast Burritos and Cantaloupe Lunches: Bologna Sandwiches, Chips, Blueberries Peanut Butter Sandwiches, Cantaloupe, Carrot Sticks Salami, Crackers, Cheese, Carrots, Grapes Pasta w/butter, Peas, Chicken Leftovers Quesadillas and Corn Baked Potatoes with lots of toppings and a Salad Dinners: Shrimp/Chicken, Baked Potatoes, Grilled Squash Chicken Tacos, Fajita Rice, Corn Ravioli's, Garlic Bread, Salad Hambugers, French Fries, Grilled Squash Tostadas, Corn, Rice Cheesy Chicken Broccoli Pasta, Garlic Bread Out to Dinner for My Sister in Law's Bday!  Okay confession t...