Meal Planning: Week of April 4th

Review from last week:

Beef Enchiladas.  Super simple recipe and really, really good.

 

Easter Brunch!  I made my always crowd-pleasing french toast, my mom brought a fruit salad and "grown up" pigs in a blanket, and Lisa brought a crust-less quiche.   

That night I attempted to recreate the truffle creamed spinach we had in NYC and I have to say, I got pretty damn close. We had it with salmon. 
 

Monday night was our favorite tomato soup - but I added crispy prosciutto to it.

 

Simple grilled chicken over arugula with rice/quinoa.

  

This one pot Chicken Chow Mein dish was perfect for a week night meal - you literally throw everything into a pot and let it simmer until it's finished.  Plus, it made enough for us to have for another meal this week.

 

Plan for next week:

Saturday: Leftovers or out to eat.

Sunday: A designated Spring-Cleaning day followed by Greg on the BBQ for dinner: Tandoori Chicken and grilled vegetables with our favorite rice/quinoa from Costco.

Monday: A take on this Thai Soup, using what we have on hand.  (Chicken instead of Shrimp).

Tuesday: Since we didn't get a chance to make it last week, slow roasted cherry tomatoes, arugula, Parmesan, prosciutto pasta.

Wednesday: Frozen Pizza and Salad

Thursday: Mandarin Orange Chicken (Trader Joe's)

Friday: Parent's night out at Ben's school and we have a Groupon to use :)

Week in photos: Myles Turns 4, Easter, and ANOTHER Ear Infection

We are entering a popular time of the year for (our friends') birthdays!  First up, Myles turned 4 (which means Ben's is officially 4 and a half - he was born on Ben's 6 month birthday) :)  We had a fun time celebrating at their house!

The next day (unrelated, as literally everyone seems to have caught the bug that has been going around), Ben wasn't feeling well.  He had a good 2-3 days where he could NOT stop coughing - which meant we kept him (mostly) in quarantine at the house. 

I did take him to work with me for a few hours on Tuesday because I had a meeting I didn't think I should miss.  I am happy to report that this guy was SUPER well behaved and happily set and typed letters next to me while I had my meeting.  Flexible work schedule and coworkers, for the WIN.

 

As his cold symptoms started to improve on Wednesday, he announced that his ear hurt (:/) so off to the walk in we went - and he was diagnosed with another ear infection.  The good news is that his ear was draining better this time (which was the purpose of the tubes), but because he was so stuffed up and congested, he still got infected.

After I caught and fought off his cold, by Saturday, Ben and I were READY to get out of the house!  After Flag Football, we spent the afternoon at Rachel and Raleigh's.  The two boys are now at such a great age to play together and and often requesting to see one another :)  So much fun!

We let Ben go in to see Raleigh first after he woke up from his nap:

 

 

Horsey Raleigh:

 

Easter was especially fun this year!  Of course Ben was pumped about being allowed to indulge a bit more in chocolate than I typically let him :)  He also had a blast looking for eggs in the morning!

Lisa, Evan and my my joined us for brunch and we spent the morning eating and playing with Ben.

 

Meal Planning: Week of March 28th

Review from last week:


I tried THREE new recipes this week and all of them were freaking awesome. The first was for beef stew over smashed (cream-cheesy) potatoes.  Delicious.

The next was a recipe for gyro meat that my friend Kristin had tried.  It's basically 1 lb ground beef, 1 lb ground lamb, breadcrumbs, and a few seasonings.  Once you mix it all together, you kneed it like bread for 10 minutes, form it into a loaf and bake it in the oven for an hour.  The result?  A crispy crust, juicy salty meat inside, and it was perfect for however you want to use it.  We had it over lentils and as a salad and both were excellent.

And finally, Alaskan Black Cod with Ginger and Hoisin sauces.  This one was very easy and honestly tasted like a restaurant-quality dish (if I do say so myself). ;)

Plan for next week:

Saturday: Beef Enchiladas

Sunday: Easter!  We are having brunch at our house to celebrate,which means I'm definitely making this Texas French Toast Bake, which I've been craving every Sunday morning since I had it for the first time in December. For dinner Pan-Seared Salmon and Truffle Creamed Spinach (the VERY recipe for the dish we had at Strip House in NYC that I've been dreaming about since we had it last month).


Monday: Leftovers

Tuesday: Creamy Crock Pot Tomato Soup and Grilled Cheese Sandwiches

Wednesday: One Pot Chicken Chow Mein


Thursday: Dinner with Rachel, Peter and Raleigh

Friday: Leftover Chicken Chow Mein

Meal Planning: Week of March 21st

Review from last week:

This is generally the amount of effort I want to put into cooking dinner on a Friday night after a long week.  Something quick and easy + a bottle of wine always sounds good on nights like this.  So we went for it - Taco Bell and a nice bottle of red :)

 

Saturday was a different story.  We had Kristin and Craig over for dinner and we each made 2 recipes from the book Cravings.

Shrimp Summer Rolls, Il Buco-Style Kale Salad, Chicken Wings with Spicy Honey Butter, and Stretchy Artichoke, Spinach and Buffalo Chicken Dip. Yumyumyumyumyumyummmm.

Dan and Jeannette shared with us a bunch of Alaskan Salmon, so with a freezer full - it meant that Greg was in need of his favorite Salmon Rolls.  I made them with this salad that reminds me that Spring is just around the corner!

 

Jerk Pork not pictured, but so good.

St. Pattys's Day Dinner: Corned Beef and veggies (crock pot)

 

Plan for next week:

Saturday: Sleepytime Stew and Smashed Potatoes

Sunday: Thai Food and Harry Potter at my parent's house


Monday: Leftover Stew and Potatoes

Tuesday: Alaskan Black Cod with Hoisin and Ginger Sauces


Wednesday: Tomato Soup and Grilled Cheese

Thursday: Gyro Meat with Lentils

Friday: Leftover Gyros

Week in Photos: Brief Power Outage, Flag Football, and Fun New Words

I have not done a good job capturing all of the amazing BIG words Ben has been using lately.  It's always so funny what comes out of his mouth these days.  Sometimes, Greg and I still cannot follow his train of thought.  Ben's response sometimes to a request we make will be "why not?" which always leaves us confused.  Or he will come and tell us some elaborate story about things that make no sense at all, but seem to be painting such a clear picture inside his mind. 

And then other times, he will throw out words that we didn't know he knew, and use them perfectly.

One night Ben had asked for his "chocolate milk" (just warm milk that he still has every morning and night).  He asked for it earlier than normal, so Greg and I kept trying to delay it as late as we could since we think it helps him sleep better.  Finally, after multiple requests, Ben quietly said,

"It's just impossible to get my chocolate milk".  

We laughed so hard (and eventually got him what he wanted).  I had no idea he knew that word and it definitely inspired me to use new/different words for things since he seems to be paying attention :)

We lost power last Sunday afternoon during a BIG windstorm.  I was certain that it was going to be out for awhile based on the weather forecast calling for heavy wind all evening long.  We decided to go spend as much time as possible at the YMCA and had such a fun time doing so!  Ben went to the kid's club for almost 2 hours while Greg and I worked out (Our Hawaii countdown has us motivated).  Then Greg took Ben swimming for awhile and he loved that :)

And BONUS - we went home to restored power!  An unexpected and lovely surprise.

We are 3 weeks into a 6 week flag football program.  Snapped this as practice was ending.

And here is a video my mom took from his first practice - I'm assuming it was during warm ups.  Look who is so fast!

Texting my mom pictures since she just got an iPhone and it's fun.

Modeling my shades.

 

Raleigh and Rachel came over to play and Raleigh was so damn cute on this digger I could barely stand it.  (And wearing a pair of Ben's hand-me-down pajamas made it that much cuter to me).

 

Meal Planning: Week of March 14th

Review from last week:

Skinnytaste recipes have been part of my meal planning every week for years now, it seems.  I tried a new one: Beef Barley Soup.  It was great - loaded with protein and fiber.  I had it for lunch all week.

 

Tried my first recipe from Cravings, and this pasta was delicious.  The next time I make it I will use probably 1/2 of the crushed red pepper because it was SO FREAKING SPICY.  Greg commented that maybe that was a good thing, because if his mouth hadn't been on fire, he would have gone back and finished the entire pot.

Spaghetti Squash Enchilada Bowls.  Meatless, filling, and surprisingly, Greg enjoyed them!

 

Crock Pot Santa Fe Chicken: Excellent as nachos, made into a quesadilla, over rice, or plain topped with cheese.  If you are looking for an easy weeknight meal, this is it.  (PS I always add garbanzo beans when I make it).

 

Plan for next week:

Saturday: Kristin and Craig are coming over for dinner.  Kristin and I each have a copy of Chrissy Teigen's cookbook, so we are each choosing a couple things to make from it.  I'll be making the Shrimp Summer Rolls and Il Buco-Style Kale Salad.

Sunday:  Salmon Rolls and Spring Green Salad w/ Lemon Feta Dressing

Monday: Slow Cooked Jerk Pork with Caribbean Salsa

Tuesday: Leftover pork

Wednesday: Soup and Salad


Thursday: Corned Beef and Cabbage in the Crock Pot

Friday: Leftover corned beef

Week in Photos: Haircut, Pizza Date, and Baby Jailyn

After a busy weekend in NYC, we thoroughly enjoyed the couch as a family upon our return.

I took Ben in for a fancy haircut and he has actually been letting me style it (occasionally).

A few pictures I snapped the night before we left.

 

 

Our friends Jamie and Collin welcomed Jailyn into the world on 2/23 and she is adorable!  We went down on Sunday to visit them and I loved every second of having a baby in my arms again :)

Afterwards, Greg wanted to check out the Italian Family Pizza in Seattle.  He had heard so much about how this was the PLACE to get good pizza in the PNW.  We were particularly on the hunt after eating such great pizza in New York.  This place was fantastic.

And finally, my office is looking to relocate.  We have toured a few places and last Friday, we agreed that this place in Bothell was where we wanted to go.  A deal still needs to be made and the contract needs to be signed, but we are hopeful!  I took this picture to show Greg where it was.  Just to the left of this picture is a bridge that is exactly 2 miles from our house (I know, because I used to walk down here with Ben in the stroller for a 4 mile adventure).  It would be so amazing if I could work this close to home!

 

Meal Planning: Week of March 7th

Review from last week:

2/3 of the Blue Apron meals were good.  Chicken with coconut grits and collard greens = excellent.

Shrimp Spaghetti - not a fan.

 

Pretzel bun burger with pub cheese and sweet potato rounds = how could this be bad?  Winner.

BLT Salad with Corn, Feta and Avocado with grilled chicken.  We made this instead of the santa fe chicken that we will make next week.

 
Plan for next week:

Sunday: Lemon Arugula Spaghetti Cacio e Pepe from Chrissy Teigen's new cookbook, which I totally bought, but found this recipe online :)

Monday:  Beef Barley Soup

Tuesday: Spaghetti Squash Enchilada Bowls

Wednesday: Leftover Soup

Thursday: Crock Pot Santa Fe Chicken (because we didn't make it last week)

Friday: Leftover Chicken

NYC Day 4

Day 4.  The day to go home.  We slept in a bit.  Greg ran out to grab us coffee and bagels while I packed up our things.  I forgot to post these on day 1, but here is the room we stayed in at St. Giles - The Court.  

Upon check in, they told us they had upgraded us to a suite - so we had this whole extra room (that we hardly used).  Still nice to have the space, though!

We chose this hotel for location and price, not luxury, however I will say that the bed was super comfortable and I have no complaints.  (Coming from a total hotel snob, I'm really happy with this place).

We had hit all of our "must sees" already, so we decided to wander straight out towards the Hudson to walk along the river.  Sunday was VERY sunny, and clothing wise, we were not totally prepared!  I ended up taking off my jacket and I'm pretty sure I got a little sunburn on my neck/chest!  

 

We walked all the way back downtown because I decided I could go for another slice.  We stopped for a Bloody Mary at Tertulia.

Then found this wall so Greg could take a picture, followed by more Joe's Pizza - after which we swore off carbs for the rest of our lives.

Last stroll through the city.

How nice of NYC to provide this beautiful sunset as we got ready to board our plane.  I can't say it enough - this was a trip of a life time.  I cannot believe we were able to pull it together a few months ago.  So many things fell into place:

Care for Ben - it's always hard for us to arrange to be away for longer than 1 night.

Tickets to Hamilton - total bucket list item fulfilled.

Time off work - hard to come by for Greg

Great weather - despite us going in FEBRUARY, when there easily could have been a blizzard. 

I'll remember this trip forever and ever!

Miles walked: 8.84