Feeding Frenzy

I love to cook. Trying out new recipes is one of life's simple pleasures for me. Unfortunately, I don't have a lot of time to cook on the weeknights, so I try to keep those meals to things that take 30 minutes or less to prepare. I also do most of the prep work the night or morning before (i.e. chopping, marinating, etc.).

I also determined pretty early on (when Carter refused to eat anything other than chicken nuggets and cheese...) that I am not a short order cook! If Carter or Ace don't like what I'm making - tough :) I make sure every meal has elements they like, so they don't starve. But I also want them to expand their palates and try new foods! They are surprised sometimes what they end up liking! As a result, I have raised kids that are not overly picky. I promise to follow up this post with my ideas for overcoming a picky eater (especially for you Jenn!!).

To make meal-planning easier, I have created an excel sheet that breaks down entrees by the main ingredient (chicken, turkey, pork, beef, seafood, vegetarian), and I also list sides by veggies and starches. That makes it super easy to create a varied menu without much thought. But sometimes I get rather bored with the usual go-to's, so every week I aim to try out a new recipe! I subscribe to Cooking Light's "Dinner Tonight" email and I often pick up Martha Stewart Living and Rachel Ray's Everyday magazines for meal ideas too! If the meal is a success, I add it to my database and put the recipe into my recipe box. Oftentimes, I can take a recipe that is elaborate or too fancy-pants for my family's tastes and make it more simple by changing the cooking method or eliminating or replacing ingredients.

If you haven't noticed, I list my weekday menu over to the right each week ---> Of course, there are some nights when I have to work late or I'm just too burnt-out to cook, so we do say "screw it" sometimes and eat pizza :)

If you ever want my "recipe" or found a meal that your family really enjoys - email me!!! Also, if you want me to email you my meal database, pop me a quick email! elle134@gmail.com

Last night, several of Ace's siblings dropped by for dinner, so I decided to try out a fun new summer recipe I found from Cooking Light - Chipotle Sloppy Joes! Oh my goodness, they were SO GOOD! Everyone was raving about them and devouring them! The recipe made about 10 sandwiches too, so it was great for feeding a mob. The contrast between the sweet vidalia onions and the spicy warm chipotle pepper was awesome - you must try this perfect summer recipe! I paired it with corn on the cob, steamed broccoli and oven fries. For dessert, we had root beer floats!!!

Happy eating!

Running Like a Well-Oiled Machine

In the never-ending quest to find balance and organization amid the chaos of life, I have found a few little tools that I have found to be helpful. Out of the goodness of my heart and sincerest interest for your wellbeing, I thought I would be kind enough to share them with you. Aren't I nice??

I currently have a super secret project underway that will one day (in the hopefully very near future) obliterate the need for these various archaic pieces of paper. I mean, come on people - its the 21st century and we're still writing with pen and paper?? However, until the great unveiling, to which my beloved and loyal blog readers will be privvy, I rely on these handy dandy forms to hold the pieces of this great juggling act together.

One of my favorite websites is the Mommy Trackd website. They have great material on there and some hilarious articles. You absolutely must check the site out! They have some awesome (and cute) downloads there too!


I really like this "Week at a Glance" to get the big picture of what is going on each week with the family. It also helps me get a better idea of which nights are better for planning things, and which days are full already.

In the bottom part for my "to do" I write out the ONE thing I will focus on from my goals list. For example, this week, my focus was working on getting up and working out each morning. I succeeded in that endeavor only 2 out of the 5 days this week, but its a start!




If you do nothing else to streamline your life, you must do this - meal plan. It saves you time, brain power and money. Long gone are the days where you rush home at 5:30 p.m. and think "ugh, what am I going to make for dinner tonight?" and try to piece together the random ingredients lying around in the fridge and pantry. No, no, no...you must plan this in advance. Every Sunday I write out my meal plan for the week (I include lunches too since I pack for both me and Carter), then I write out my grocery list and do my shopping for the week (and if I really have it together - 2 weeks). I try to chop any veggies or do any prep work I can ahead of time too!



I think this is my favorite form - The Balance Sheet. I print one out every day at the start of the day (I have it saved to my desk top) and write out what needs to get done for both work and home. Its a great way to stay on task!

Now, for my old nemesis - housecleaning. Many moons ago, I stumbled upon the Motivated Moms housekeeping planners. The lady who owns this business is a stay at home mom who came up with a way to stay on top of household chores while still preserving time for yourself. She sets out day-by-day a handful of chores that will keep your house in order. Now, I'll admit, its really hard to keep up with the daily schedule while working full time, so sometimes I have to look at it in terms of the week rather than the day, and that works too. But, its really nice when I can stay on top of the daily tasks and then don't have to carve out huge chunks of precious time with my kids on the weekends, or my down-time for myself (while they are asleep of course) to do housework. Its only $8 for the whole year and she has several different formats for you to choose from. For this paltry sum, I highly suggest you give it a try!!

If you are list-crazed OCD and want lots of different options for every conceivable situation (ahem...Melissa), then you will probably like the Organized Home website with its gazillion forms (and great content too!!) and the Mom Agenda website, which sells planners but has lots of free downloads as well (and they are super cute too!).

Of course, all the organization in the world won't help a lick if you don't actually do the work, so I'd better get back to writing this legal motion now. I hope you all have a FABULOUS weekend! I plan to do a major overhaul cleaning of my house tomorrow, so wish me luck and cooperative children!