just a smidge...

i love lists and organization and things alphabetized and color-coded... oooohhh, my heart is skipping just thinking about my organized by aisle grocery list!!! jealous?!! well don't be, i will share with you what i'm making for dinner for the next two weeks and this week i'll go step by step for a one of my favs so you can copy and paste onto your shopping list. see how i love ya!

okay, here's what i have planned:

*whole wheat pasta arrabbiata with tomatoes & arugula (i use spinach instead)

*vinegar & honey chicken with creamy dijon smashed potatoes

*pot roast with new red potatoes & baby carrots and fresh green beans

*lemon poppy chicken with mint couscous

*chicken enchiladas

*manicotti with spinach salad

*chicken parmesan (my Man's absolute fav and very easy, restaurant's totally over charge for this dish!)

*taco pie in a pan (we had this tonight)

*chicken casserole

*baked salmon & cranberry/walnut couscous

*pizza (this is a must have, and if i don't feel like supermom and make it from scratch we order from pizza hut, they do have an all natural ingredient pizza... not that we always order that one..)

*ranch & cheese hamburgers with homemade fries (i can attribute the inspiration for this entire meal from my very bestest-est friend, might as well be my twin sister, ms.S...oooohhh secretive!)

*lasagna

see, none of these dishes are overly difficult for mom's to put on the table, and your cute little (or big) families can eat organic/all natural food that is actually good for their and your bodies!!

alright, a top pick of mine is the chicken enchiladas, so here's my recipe for them... feel free to modify however you like:

you'll need:

1# chicken breasts

1 jar of salsa - i buy a big jar - whatever brand or level of heat that you prefer

1-16oz sour cream

1 to 2 cups of Monterrey/jack cheese

1 pkg of 10 burrito size tortilla shells

preheat your oven to 375 degrees and i use a 13x9 casserole dish and spray with my pam organic olive oil spray. now you can do this next step several ways: to save time for me i tend to grill or baked up my chicken breasts earlier in the week when i'm baking another meal and i've already got the oven/grill going, regardless cook your chicken and cut/shred. are you followin' me? great!! let's progress to getting the tortillas shells prepared: i get a pie pan or large bowl out and pour half or so of the salsa into the bowl. get your tortilla shells and soak the shells in the salsa, get them all covered in the tomato/onion/cilantro/pepper goodness and let them sit and soak it up!! this allows the shells to not tear once i fill them and roll them. alright, let's make the filling! in a separate dish pour the remainder of the salsa, half to three-quarters of the sour and all the chicken in and mix it up. now it doesn't look all that great, when i made this the first time and my Man walked into the kitchen i would not let him look at it 'cause i knew he wouldn't eat it but it tastes amazing. we're almost there, this is pretty easy, huh? get your casserole dish in front of you and pull out a tortilla shell and lay it flat in the casserole dish or wherever you please and you're going to fill your shell with about a 1/3 cup (more or less) with our salsa/sour cream/chicken filling, and then roll it up!! and put it in your casserole dish, and you will of course repeat this 9 more times and you'll have a very full dish!! your shells should fit perfectly in, they are almost exactly 9 inches long. finally you will then spread the remaining sour cream all over the top of the enchiladas, this make them so yummy!! put as much as you want within reason because the best part is coming: the cheese!!!! yea!!! cover the entire dish with cheese and then add a smidge more for good measure.

pull open your warm little oven and tent some foil over that masterpiece and bake for about 20 minutes, then remove the foil and bake just a smidge more 'til the cheese starts to get a little golden on the edges..

wipe up your drool and put this one on your list!!!

home cookin', please n' thanks

so i did finally make it to the store for my 2 weeks worth of groceries, and a recap for those in the back: i only head to the store one time every two weeks in my attempt to not spend so much freakin' money at WM! be more time efficient and planning out our menu for 2 weeks helps my OCD me be more organized!

i really tried to come up with some new recipes this time around while of course keeping the family favs in the rotation. and i know that cooking my organic dinners from scratch i a ton more work that ordering chinese take-out (which i soooo love by the way) but i know how much my POK* and my Man love home-cooked food and i love them, so there you go.

*Posse of Kiddos

on to the show: here's what i'm creating in the kitchen...

-meatloaf with corn casserole & fresh green beans

-chicken enchiladas

-asian grilled salmon with rice (white or brown, whatever i feel like that night) & veggies

-deli-stuffed eggwiches & homemade fries (baked not fried, how ya like them apples!!)

-creamy spaghetti and beans with biscuits & raw honey

-florentine mac and cheese with roasted turkey meatballs

-lasgana

-baked french toast & sausage & scrambled eggs

-tiapia with cousous and spinach salad

-grilled chicken and Annie's cheese noodles

-cheese ravioli & baked chicken & broccoli

-pizza and carrots with hummus

-cuban surf-n-turf (this is a new one out of the Rachael Ray cookbook)

i got everything for these 14 dinner ideas plus all our healthy snacks, lunch yummies and fresh fruit and veggies and other baking stuff for homemade cookies & brownies, and i spent less than $300. now for our family of 5, this is quite an accomplishment, with Master 'P' eating as much as daddy does (he's a growing boy, only 11 and over 5 feet tall and a shoe size of a men's 9 1/2, it takes a lot to keep him growing!) and 'Lou-Who' is on a growth spurt right now and Big 'K' just snacks on granola & apples & cheese sticks all day long!!!

now i will head to the farmer's market this next weekend for more fresh veggies and fruit and i do have to go to one of the local grocers for our organic, farm-fresh milk along will a loaf of bread, but that's it!!!

tonight i think i'm going to make the florentine mac-n-cheese with turkey meatball, it will be the first time so pray that my POKs have hungry tummies and an open-mind!!

if you are interested in any of the recipes specifically leave me a comment or @blessdmama me on Twitter and you just might get your wish!!

happy cooking!

food for thought

breath in and smell the fresh scent of a brand-spankin' new month!!! july, wow!! i truly feel like 2009 just got here, but with the craziness that comes with being a wife and mama time really does fly.

i am inspired to let you all in on my grocery list and menu for the family, seeing how it is 97.887% all natural and organic. and while this isn't always easy, in fact it is time consuming, i totally feel content and thrilled to know that while the POK are scarfing down their food it is wonderfully healthy and is actually contributing to their overall well-being!!

you're excited aren't you?! well, get to reading and i hope this motivates you to start out on the organic/all natural cooking and snacking...

in order to be as good of a steward as possible with my grocery budget (and my Man is completely generous with the grocery budget since buying all natural/organic is a tad more money than purchasing processed, not real foods, ahem, sorry for that little outburst), i attempt to shop for 2 weeks worth of food. i am totally addicted to WM super stores and the more i go the more money i am likely to spend, so i cut out more trips=spend less and save more! i do make a quick trip to the store about 7 days in for more fresh fruit, sandwich meats, fresh veggies and milk or i make every effort to get out to the weekend farmers market!! so when i headed out to the store this past weekend with my menu with needed ingredients, here's my list of planned meals:

Oh Baby! Pasta with Shrimp, Tomatoes & Arugula

Chicken Parm Stoup

Poppy Chicken with Smashed Potatoes & veggies

Mac-n-Cheese-n-Burgers & veggies

Tomatilla & Chicken Quesadillas

good ole Spaghetti and Meatballs & veggies

Breakfast night (consisting of pancakes/eggs/bacon/fruit)

Grilled Teriyaki Salmon & Chessy Noodles & veggies

Tilapia Club Stacks

Pizza & Spinach Salad

Catalina Chicken with Rice & Broccoli

Burrito Bake with Salad

i realize that i'm missing a couple meals for this 2 weeks but i'm writing this without my menu in front of me, so please forgive my forgetfulness!! :)

now i believe i've raved about my love of all Rachael Ray recipes in a previous post, but i will gush again because i love how that girl can whip up an outstanding, homecooked meal in only 30 minutes. i seriously can't get the cooking done that quick, and while i love ms.Ray, she doesn't have a 2 year old (well 'K' will be 2 tomorrow!!! but more on that later!) hanging on her apron, a Great Dane puppy literally running in between her legs chasing the 2 year, the cell phone beeping me letting me know that MckMama has tweeted again (which i love getting, not complaining MckMama), my lil' Lou-Who girlie skipping from the living room, to the dining room, through the kitchen all while practicing jump-roping, with 'P' bounding through dribbling a basketball....whew!! how do i ever get anything cooked now that i think about it? i digress, so i don't get it done in 30 minutes, more like 45 minutes, but still not too bad. and she, ms.Ray, has 15 minute menu ideas and those i can typically get done in 30 minutes.

here's just a glimpse of the rowdy little 'K' during dinner prep being Buzz Lightyear and then having a meltdown... come one babe, walk it off!!

i've gone through all this to say this: it is possible to plan out your menu for a week or 2 weeks, just stick to your list. and to add Posse of Kiddos input, i let the big kids look over the menu and pick what they'd like to have and when. it's fun, they appreciate being asked since many things as a kid aren't within their ability to control, and while they many times take a look at the new food on their plate and say "this doesn't look good.."no try again, you have to say it with a really good whiny-ness in your voice...great, you did it just like lil 'Lou-Who'!! (hee, hee..love you sis), they have discovered many new food and recipes that are quickly becoming favorites.

i also purchased snacks for the next 2 weeks such as: tons of strawberries, even more blueberries, like a million pounds of grapes for 'K', celery with spinach dip or hummus, all natural vanilla yogurt, granola, oh yea lots of apples and nectarines, Annies bunny crackers, natural cheese sticks, baby carrots, cucumbers, popcorn, lots of nuts like cashews & almonds. i know there's more but my brain is blinking out on me, darn sinus infection/migraine.

i promise i am really going to keep up with letting you in on my bi-weekly shopping lists and menus and maybe you can leave me a comment with your fav meals to cook so i can try something new, too